The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre.[1]

Further alterations were made in 1882 by Alexander Peebles, after which its capacity was 728 (including stalls and boxes, dress circle and balcony, amphitheatre, and gallery),[3] after that, Arthur Cecil (who had joined the theatre's company in 1881) was co-manager of the theatre with John Clayton.[4] Among other works, they produced a series of Arthur Wing Pinero's farces, including The Rector, The Magistrate (1885), The Schoolmistress (1886), and Dandy Dick (1887), among others.[5] The theatre closed on 22 July 1887 and was demolished.[6]

The present building was built on the east side of Sloane Square, replacing the earlier building, and opened on 24 September 1888 as the New Court Theatre. Designed by Walter Emden and Bertie Crewe, it is constructed of fine red brick, moulded brick, and a stone facade in free Italianate style. Originally the theatre had a capacity of 841 in the stalls, dress circle, amphitheatre, and a gallery.

The interior was reconstructed by Robert Cromie, and the number of seats was reduced to under 500, the theatre re-opened in 1952.[9]George Devine was appointed artistic director at the suggestion of Oscar Lewenstein, one of the founders of the English Stage Company. Greville Poke, another co-founder was appointed Honorary Secretary of the ESC in October 1954.[10] The ESC opened at the Royal Court in 1956 as a subsidised theatre producing new British and foreign plays, together with some classical revivals.[11] Devine aimed to create a writers' theatre, seeking to discover new writers and produce serious contemporary works. Devine produced the new company's third production in 1956, John Osborne's Look Back in Anger, a play by one of the angry young men, the director was Tony Richardson. Osborne followed Look Back In Anger with The Entertainer, with Laurence Olivier in the lead as Archie Rice, a play the actor effectively commissioned from the playwright. Significantly, although it was quickly reversed, the artistic board of the ESC initially rejected the play. Two members of the board were in agreement in opposing The Entertainer, the Conservative Christian verse dramatist Ronald Duncan, the third co-founder of the ESC, disliked the work of Osborne according to Osborne biographer John Heilpern,[12][13] while Lewenstein, a former Communist,[14] did not want one of the theatre's new plays to be overwhelmed by its star and did not think much of the play.[12]

Though the main auditorium and the façade were attractive, the remainder of the building provided poor facilities for both audience and performers, and the stalls and understage often flooded throughout the 20th century. By the early 1990s, the theatre had deteriorated dangerously and was threatened with closure in 1995, the Royal Court received a grant of £16.2 million from the National Lottery and the Arts Council for redevelopment, and beginning in 1996, under the artistic directorship of Stephen Daldry, it was completely rebuilt, except for the façade and the intimate auditorium. The architects for this were Haworth Tompkins, the theatre reopened in February 2000, with the 380-seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, and the 85-seat studio theatre, now the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. Since 1994, a new generation of playwrights debuting at the theatre has included Joe Penhall, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Roy Williams amongst others.[citation needed] Since the 1990s, the Royal Court has placed an emphasis on the development and production of international plays. By 1993, the British Council had begun its support of the International Residency programme (which started in 1989 as the Royal Court International Summer School), and more recently the Genesis Foundation has also supported the production of international plays, the theatre received a 1999 International Theatre Institute award.[17] In May 2008 The English Stage Company presented The Ugly One by Marius von Mayenburg at the "Contact International Theatre Festival" in Poland.[18]

Caryl Churchill's play Seven Jewish Children opened at the theatre in February 2009. Many Jewish leaders and journalists have criticised Seven Jewish Children as antisemitic,[22][23][24][25] contending that it violates the rule that "a play that is critical of, and entirely populated by, characters from one community, can be defended only if it is written by a member of that community".[26] Further, Associate Director Ramin Gray has been accused of hypocrisy, as he is reported to have stated that he would be reluctant to stage a play critical of Islam.[27][28]

Michael Billington in The Guardian described the play as "a heartfelt lamentation for the future generations".[29] The paper contended that the play, though controversial, is not antisemitic,[30] yet Seven Jewish Children was viewed by another Guardian writer as historically inaccurate and harshly critical of Jews.[31] Jonathan Hoffman, co-vice chairman of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, called the play "a libellous and despicable demonisation of Israeli parents and grandparents" and expressed fear that it would "stoke the fires of antisemitism". He added that the play is a modern blood libel drawing on old anti-Semitic myths.[22]Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly also calls the play a blood libel.[23] Columnist Melanie Phillips wrote that the play is "an open vilification of the Jewish people... drawing upon an atavistic hatred of the Jews" and called it "Open incitement to hatred".[22]The New York Times wrote that the play "at times paints heartless images of Israelis."[24]

In reply, the Royal Court issued the following statement:

Some concerns have been raised that the Royal Court's production of Seven Jewish Children, by Caryl Churchill is anti-Semitic. We categorically reject that accusation.... While Seven Jewish Children is undoubtedly critical of the policies of the state of Israel, there is no suggestion that this should be read as a criticism of Jewish people.... In keeping with its philosophy, the Royal Court Theatre presents a multiplicity of viewpoints. The Stone, which is currently running... asks very difficult questions about the refusal of some modern Germans to accept their ancestors' complicity in Nazi atrocities. Shades, currently in our smaller studio theatre... explores issues of tolerance in the [London] Muslim community.[28]

Napoleon, Davi (1991). Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater. Iowa State University Press. ISBN0-8138-1713-7. (Includes a detailed comparison of the Royal Court and a theater in New York City that was influenced by it; also includes discussion of Royal Court plays that the Chelsea presented, including Saved, Total Eclipse, and The Contractor)

1.
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
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Royal Court Theatre is a theatre located at 1 Roe Street, Liverpool, England. It was built in 1938 in an Art Deco style, built in the 12th century, the site of the current Royal Court Theatre was originally a water well. The turning point was in 1826 when an owner, John Cooke, bought the site for his circuses, plays, operas and concerts. During this time, Pablo Fanque, the circus performer. Performed here as a part of William Battys circus, in 1881, the building was redesigned by Henry Sumner as a regular theatre and it was re-opened as the Royal Court. A fire destroyed the building in 1933 during the opera and drama that Howard, after a small delay, construction works began in March 1938 to ensure the theatre was rebuilt and reopened in October of the same year. The Royal Court Theatre we know now was opened on 17 October 1938 and it had been totally rebuilt with a new Art Deco style, making it Liverpools number one theatre with all its splendour and grandeur. The interior of the building holds a theme, which is in line with Liverpools seafaring traditions. The basement lounge has its design based on the Queen Mary liner, there are three viewing levels within the main auditorium, the Stalls, the Grand Circle and the Balcony. Although the Blitz of World War II destroyed many of the buildings around it, throughout the war, many well-known artists performed in the Royal Court, including Ivor Novello, Margot Fonteyn, John Gielgud and Richard Burton who appeared in an Emlyn Williams production. Their first year ended promisingly and proved to be a strategy for the venue. Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, Roger Taylor, Brian May, U2 and George Michael. The music videos for Let It Go, High n Dry, the photo on Let It Go single cover was taken from that shoot. In 1983, rock group Slade performed their last live UK concert with the lineup featuring Noddy Holder. In 1990, the building was listed as Grade II, highlighting the fact that it is a part of Liverpools heritage. The stalls are now set out in a three-tier cabaret-style arrangement with tables and chairs, the counterweight fly system has recently been refurbished. There were originally in excess of 70 fly lines, however this has reduced to about half that number in order to increase the distance between bars. The original brakes have now been removed and they screwed shut and could hinge open to completely release the rope

Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
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Plaque in foyer
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
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The counterweight fly system as it is now
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
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The Grandmaster lighting control
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
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Skyscrapers and highrises (over 60m)

2.
Sloane Square
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The area forms a boundary between the two largest aristocratic estates in London, the Grosvenor Estate and the Cadogan. The square was known as Hans Town, laid out in 1771 to a plan of by Henry Holland Snr. Both the square and Hans Town were named after Sir Hans Sloane, the square lies at the east end of Kings Road and at the south end of the more conventionally smart Sloane Street linking to Knightsbridge. In the early 1980s, it lent its name to the Sloane Rangers, on the northern side of the square is the Sloane Square Hotel. The square has two notable buildings, the building was carefully restored 2003-2007 with internal upgrading in line with the original designs by John McAslan and Partners. This included making the three storey atrium full-height, Peter Jones now operates as part of the employee-owned John Lewis chain. The other is the Royal Court Theatre first opened in 1888 which was important for avant-garde theatre in the 1960s and 1970s when the home of the English Stage Company. 100m from the Square in Sloane Terrace, the former Christian Science Church was built in 1907 and it is now one of Londons leading classical music venues. In 2005 revised landscaping of the square was proposed, involving a change to the layout to make it more pedestrian friendly. One option was to create a central crossroads and two spaces in front of Peter Jones and the Royal Court. The pedestrian area leading to Pavilion Road now houses the flagship stores of many brands including Brora. This option was put out to consultation, and the results in April 2007 showed that over 65% of respondents preferred a renovation of the existing square, since then, independent proposals have been put forward for the square. A short walk down Kings Road from the Square is the National Army Museum, holy Trinity Sloane Street, the Church of England parish church of 1890 is sometimes known as the Cathedral of the Arts & Crafts Movement on account of its fine fittings. These include a set of windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Sloane Square Underground station is at the eastern corner of the square. The River Westbourne is carried over the station platforms in plain view. The Venus Fountain in the centre of the square was constructed in 1953, in 2006, David Lammy put forward a proposal to have the fountain grade II listed, which was successful. This square is mentioned by Morrissey in his song Hairdresser on Fire, in the Doctor Who film Daleks – Invasion Earth,2150 A. D. the Dalek spaceship lands in Sloane Square amidst the ruins of 22nd century London

3.
Sloane Square tube station
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Sloane Square is a London Underground station in Sloane Square. It is served by the District and Circle lines, between South Kensington and Victoria stations and is in Travelcard Zone 1, the entrance to the station is on the east side of Sloane Square. It is adjacent to the Royal Court Theatre and is the nearest station for Kings Road shopping, the Peter Jones department store and the Cadogan Hall. The station was opened on 24 December 1868 by the District Railway when the company opened the first section of its line between South Kensington and Westminster stations, the River was carried above the platform in a large iron pipe suspended from girders. On 1 February 1872, the DR opened a branch from its station at Earls Court to connect to the West London Extension Joint Railway to which it connected at Addison Road. From that date the Outer Circle service began running over the DRs tracks, the service was run by the North London Railway from its terminus at Broad Street in the City of London via the North London Line to Willesden Junction, then the West London Line to Addison Road. Due to financial problems, the DR extended only one further east. The service was operated jointly by the H&CR and the DR, on 30 June 1900, the Middle Circle service was withdrawn between Earls Court and Mansion House. On 31 December 1908 the Outer Circle service was also withdrawn, in the late 1930s, the station building was rebuilt in the modern style and escalators were installed between the ticket hall and the platforms. The new station building did not last long as it was destroyed during World War II. A German bomb that fell in November 1940 killed 37 and injured 79 passengers on a train in the station and destroyed the hall, escalators. In 1949, the Metropolitan line operated Inner Circle route was given its own identity on the map as the Circle line. By 1951 the station had been rebuilt again in a style to the 1930s building. The arched glass roof was not replaced and the current station does not have the open atmosphere of the original. The office building above the entrance is a later addition. On 5 April 1960, Peter Llewelyn Davies, one of the Llewelyn Davies boys who were the inspiration for the boy characters of J. M, on 26 December 1973, a terrorist bomb exploded in the telephone kiosk in the booking office. The station has ticket halls, escalators, a Wifi service, vending machines and it also has canopies over each platform. Sloane Square was going to be a stop on the long proposed Chelsea-Hackney line, however it is planned to be re-introduced in the next safeguarding of the line

Sloane Square tube station
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Entrance on Sloane Square
Sloane Square tube station
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Plan of Sloane Square station, Sloane Square and surrounding streets, as they were in 1888.
Sloane Square tube station
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The River Westbourne, one of London's many subterranean rivers, flows above the station in a large grey iron conduit.

4.
West End Theatre
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West End theatre is a common term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of Theatreland in and near the West End of London. Along with New York Citys Broadway theatre, West End theatre is considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London, in 2013, ticket sales reached a record 14.4 million, making West End the largest English speaking audience in the world. Famous screen actors frequently appear on the London stage, helen Mirren received an award for her performance as the Queen on the West End stage, and then stated, theatre is such an important part of British history and British culture. Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation, the first permanent public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain, both are known to have been used by William Shakespeares company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark and these theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence the interregnum of 1649. After the Restoration, two companies were licensed to perform, the Dukes Company and the Kings Company, performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisles Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal and it opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new designed by Christopher Wren and renamed the Theatre Royal. Outside the West End, Sadlers Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, it operated as a Musick House, with performances of opera, as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site north of its current location. The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, by the early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama. Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music, initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses, but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End at Shoreditch and Whitechapel. The West End theatre district became established with the opening of small theatres and halls. South of the River Thames, the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, the next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. It abbreviated its name three years later, the theatre building boom continued until about World War I

5.
Walter Emden
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Walter Lawrence Emden was one of the leading English theatre and music hall architects in the building boom of 1885 to 1915. Emden was the son of William S. Emden, lessee of Londons Olympic Theatre. Originally studying as a engineer, he joined architects Kelly. He was immediately given the commission of designing the Globe Theatre, Emden also became a member of the Strand District Board of Works, a forerunner of local councils, and for seven years acted as chair. In 1890, he was elected to the London County Council, in 1880, W. G. R. Sprague, a former pupil of Frank Matcham, joined Emdens practice as an apprentice for three years. From 1889, Emden entered a partnership with Charles J. Phipps building the Tivoli, Garrick Theatre and his most important work, The Tivoli, in the Strand, became the archetype for music hall and variety theatre architecture. His work extended to hotels, restaurants and, as it became popular and he also had a younger half-brother, Henry, who was a leading scenic artist, painting the stage curtain for Walters Trafalgar Theatre in 1892. In 1903 Walter Emden became the 4th Mayor of Westminster, before becoming the Mayor of Dover in November 1907 under somewhat unusual circumstances. He was the first mayor not to be a member of the Town Council, the Guide to British Theatres describes Emdens early work as the epitome of architectural illiteracy betraying his lack of formal training in architecture. He formally retired in 1906, passing the practice to Emden, Egan and Co. a partnership formed from his four assistants, Stephen H. Egan, William S. Emden, A. J. Croughton. They remained in offices in Lancaster Place, off the Strand and designed many suburban London cinemas and hotels, most of these large cinemas have now succumbed, as music-hall did to them, to television and been modified to other uses, or demolished. Emden died in London in 1913 and his list of theatre designs include, Theatre London, An Architectural Guide, Edwin Heathcote, ISBN 1-84166-047-7 Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, Earl, John and Michael Sell pp

Walter Emden
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The Garrick, shown in 2007, was built by Emden with C. J. Phipps in 1888.

6.
Haworth Tompkins
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Haworth Tompkins was formed in 1991 by architects Graham Haworth and Steve Tompkins. The practice employs circa 55 people, the Shed, London Temporary auditorium for the National Theatre on the South Bank. North Wall, Oxford New theatre for St Edwards School, Young Vic Theatre, London Refurbishment of Bill Howells 1970s auditorium with new studios, foyer and back-of-house facilities for the Young Vic theatre. The Egg, Bath Childrens Theatre for the Theatre Royal, in an existing Grade II listed building in the heart of Bath, student Housing, Newington Green, London Accommodation for students in land-locked site in Newington Green, London. Transformation of the odl headquarters building of the China Inland Mission, Extension to Hayward Gallery, London Extension and refurbishment of the Hayward Gallery including new pavilion structure with artist Dan Graham. Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry Extension and refurbishment for Coventry City Council adjacent to Coventry Cathedral, loch Promenade, Douglas, Isle of Man High-quality offices in the centre of Douglas with new landscaped square. Iroko Housing, London New terraced housing development with central courtyard for Coin Street Community Builders on Londons South Bank, Royal Court Theatre, London Rebuilding of existing Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square with new front of house facilities, offices, dressing rooms and technical facilities. 2005 Bath & North East Somerset Design Quality Award -The Egg Theatre,2003 ABTT Prague Quadrennial Gold Award for Theatre Design. Best Residential Building -Iroko Housing Co-op,2002 Evening Standard awards – most promising newcomer. Time Out Live Awards – Most Inspiring Venue – Almeida Kings Cross, RIBA award for architecture -Iroko Housing Co-op. Housing Design Award -Iroko Housing Co-op, Building of the Year, Royal Fine Art Commission -Iroko Housing Co-op. 2001 Building Awards, Young Architect of The Year, outstanding Young UK Architect, Royal Fine Art Commission Awards. English Partnerships Regeneration Award – Coin Street Iroko Housing Co op, iStructE award – Royal Court Theatre. 2000 RIBA Award –Royal Court Theatre, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Conservation and Restoration Award – Royal Court Theatre. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Accessibility Award – Royal Court Theatre, USITT Award – Royal Court Theatre. Civic Trust Award –Doc Martens, Cobbs Lane, concrete Society Award – Royal Court Theatre. FX Award Shortlist – Royal Court,1998 Civic Trust Award – Offices, St. Helier, Jersey. 1996 Structural Steel Award –Doc Martens, Cobbs Lane,1995 RIBA Regional Award –Doc Martens

7.
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke
–
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, GCB, PC, British statesman, was a pivotal but often forgotten figure who shaped British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William Ewart Gladstone as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1868 and 1873 and as Home Secretary between 1873 and 1874, Lowe is remembered for his work in education policy, his opposition to electoral reform and his contribution to modern UK company law. The Division of Lowe, a now abolished Australian electoral division located in Sydney, was named after him, Gladstone appointed Lowe as Chancellor expecting him to hold down public spending. Public spending rose, and Gladstone pronounced Lowe wretchedly deficient, most historians agree, Lowe repeatedly underestimated the revenue, enabling him to resist demands for tax cuts and to reduce the national debt instead. He insisted that the tax system be fair to all classes, by his own main criterion of fairness – that the balance between direct and indirect taxation remain unchanged – he succeeded. However historians do not believe this balance is a measure of class incidence and was by that time thoroughly archaic. Lowe was born in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, England, the son of the Reverend Robert Lowe. His mother was Ellen, the daughter of the Rev. Reginald Pyndar, Lowe had albinism, and his sight was so weak that initially it was thought he was unfit to be sent to school. In 1822 he went to a school at Southwell, then to one at Risley, in Lowes fragment of autobiography he shows an unpleasing picture of the under-feeding and other conditions of the school life of the time. The languages of Latin and Greek were the subjects of study. In 1835 he won a fellowship at Magdalen, but vacated it on marrying, on 26 March 1836, Lowe was for a few years a successful tutor at Oxford, but in 1838 was disappointed at not being elected to the professorship of Greek at the University of Glasgow. Lowe held that seat until 20 June 1848 and was elected for City of Sydney in July 1848, knatchbull was hanged on 13 February 1844. Lowe and his wife adopted Mrs. Jamiesons two orphaned children, Bobby and Polly Jamieson, on 27 January 1850, the Lowes and the two Jamieson children sailed to England, where he would enter political life. In 1852, he was returned to Parliament for Kidderminster in the Liberal interest, during his time there, he saw the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 passed – the first nationwide codification of company law in the world. He has been referred to as the father of modern company law and this status was again referred to in the presentation by Lord Sainsbury of the second reading leading up to the new United Kingdom Companies Act 2006. One hundred and fifty years ago, my predecessor Robert Lowe, later First Viscount Sherbrooke and it was the first nationwide codification of company law in the world, and he has recently been described as the father of modern company law. Our company law continues to have an excellent record, since 1997 new incorporations have risen by over 60 per cent and the number of foreign firms incorporating in the UK has more than quadrupled. No doubt this is because, according to the World Banks assessment and this was the result of the strong feelings that had been aroused against Lingens administration of the Education Office

8.
Acton Smee Ayrton
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Acton Smee Ayrton was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician. Considered a radical and champion of the classes, he served as First Commissioner of Works under William Ewart Gladstone between 1869 and 1873. He is best remembered for the Ayrton controversy over scientific facilities at Kew Gardens, Ayrton was the uncle of the physicist and electrical engineer William Edward Ayrton. Ayrton practised as a solicitor in Bombay, British India, and was called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1857 he was elected Member of Parliament for Tower Hamlets, a seat he held until 1874. Ayrton is best remembered for the so-called Ayrton controversy and this prompted a confrontation with Joseph Dalton Hooker, who enlisted the support of Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, amongst other scientific luminaries. After debates in both Houses of Parliament, Ayrton was transferred to the post of Judge Advocate General and the proposal failed, Ayrton remained as Judge Advocate General until the Gladstone government fell in February 1874. He lost his seat in parliament in the election of that year. In the Palace of Westminster the lantern at the top of the Elizabeth Tower is called the Ayrton Light and it was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria so that she could see from Buckingham Palace when the members were sitting and named after Ayrton. For the last few years of his life he was a frequenter of the Reform Club. He died at the Mount Dore Hotel, Bournemouth, on 30 November 1886 and he is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. Caricatures of Acton Smee Ayrton at the National Portrait Gallery Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Courtney. Dictionary of National Biography,1901 supplement​

9.
W. S. Gilbert
–
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. The most famous of these include H. M. S, Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that they founded. Eleven of the Savoy operas continue to be performed in the English-speaking world and beyond by opera companies, repertory companies, schools. Lines from these works have become part of the English language, such as short, sharp shock, What, and Let the punishment fit the crime. Gilberts creative output included over 75 plays and libretti, and numerous stories, poems and lyrics. He also began to write burlesques and his first comic plays, developing a unique absurdist and he also developed a realistic method of stage direction and a reputation as a strict theatre director. M. S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, in the 1880s, Gilbert focused on the Savoy operas, including Patience, Iolanthe, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard and The Gondoliers. Gilbert won the lawsuit, but the argument caused hurt feelings among the partnership. Although Gilbert and Sullivan were persuaded to collaborate on two last operas, they were not as successful as the previous ones, in later years, Gilbert wrote several plays, and a few operas with other collaborators. He retired, with his wife and ward, Nancy McIntosh, to a country estate, Gilbert died of a heart attack while attempting to rescue a young woman to whom he was giving a swimming lesson in the lake at his home. Gilbert was born at 17 Southampton Street, Strand, London and his father, also named William, was briefly a naval surgeon, who later became a writer of novels and short stories, some of which were illustrated by his son. Gilberts mother was the former Anne Mary Bye Morris, the daughter of Thomas Morris, Gilberts parents were distant and stern, and he did not have a particularly close relationship with either of them. They quarrelled increasingly, and following the break-up of their marriage in 1876, his relationships with them, especially his mother, Gilbert was nicknamed Bab as a baby, and then Schwenck, after his fathers godparents. As a child, Gilbert travelled to Italy in 1838 and then France for two years with his parents, who returned to settle in London in 1847. He then attended Kings College London, graduating in 1856, instead he joined the Civil Service, he was an assistant clerk in the Privy Council Office for four years and hated it. In 1859 he joined the Militia, a volunteer force formed for the defence of Britain, with which he served until 1878. In 1863 he received a bequest of £300 that he used to leave the service and take up a brief career as a barrister

10.
Creatures of Impulse
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Creatures of Impulse is a stage play by the English dramatist W. S. Gilbert, with music by the composer-conductor Alberto Randegger, which Gilbert adapted from his own short story. Both the play and the story concern an unwanted and ill-tempered old fairy who enchants people to behave in a manner opposite to their natures. The short story was written for The Graphics Christmas number of 1870, and it originally included six songs, but three were eventually cut, and some productions dispensed with the music entirely. While the lyrics survive, the music was never published and is lost, reviews of the play were mostly positive, though it was criticised for the lack of a significant plot or superstructure to support its comic premise. Nonetheless, reviewers found it enjoyable, and it was a modest success, running for 91 performances, Gilbert had already written a considerable body of stories, plays, poems, criticism and other works before writing Creatures of Impulse. He later wrote the libretti to the series of Savoy operas between 1871 and 1896. In 1871 he was even busier, producing seven plays and operas, Gilberts dramatic writing during this time was evolving from his early musical burlesques to a more restrained style, as exemplified in his string of blank-verse fairy comedies. The first of these was The Palace of Truth, which opened in 1870 to widespread acclaim, Gilbert described the play as a musical fairytale. He is also remembered for his important 1879 textbook entitled Singing and his music for Creatures of Impulse was criticised as extremely undramatic, though others found it pretty. Much of it was cut from revivals of the piece, Gilbert first published Creatures of Impulse as a short story, under the title A Strange Old Lady, in the 1870 Christmas number of The Graphic, an illustrated weekly newspaper. Gilbert did not originally intend for the story to be turned into a play, nonetheless and he adapted the story into a play for Marie Littons Royal Court Theatre. Litton took over the proprietorship of the New Chelsea Theatre in 1871 and he often used his previous prose work as the basis of later plays, and The Strange Old Lady was no exception. Under the new title of Creatures of Impulse, it opened on 2 April 1871 as a piece for Randalls Thumb. Successful, it lasted through 91 performances and acted as a piece to five different plays. The play was revived in 1872 at the Court Theatre, in 1873 at the Queens Theatre and it appears to have gone through several changes during these revivals, the first of which was described on its playbill as a shortened version, and the last as an altered one. Various versions continued to be produced into the 20th century by amateurs as well as occasional professional groups, an acting edition was published by T. H. Lacy around 1871. T. H. Lacy was acquired by Samuel French, the piece, still occasionally produced, was part of the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in 2006. Substantial cuts were made in the text by the time the play was collected for Original Plays, Fourth Series, note, The short story takes place at an inn on the road from London to Norwich, but the play calls for Alsatian costumery

11.
Alberto Randegger
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Randegger was born in Trieste, Italy, the son of musician mother and schoolteacher father. He met Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, in 1850, and later known as a great interpreter of Verdis operas. He was a pupil of Jean Lafont in piano and of Luigi Ricci in composition and his earliest compositions were masses and other pieces of church music and, with two other young pupils of Ricci, produced two ballets and an opera, Il Lazzarone, in 1852. In 1854 he composed opera, Bianca Capello, at Brescia. During this period, he served as music director of theatres in Fiume, Senigallia, Brescia. Randegger began work in London as an organist at St. Pauls in Regents Park from his arrival there, in 1854, beginning in 1857, he conducted Italian opera at the St. Jamess Theatre. He also became known as a teacher of singing in London. Beginning in 1868, he was conductor at the Wolverhampton Festival, the same year, he was appointed professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was appointed a director and a member of the committee of management. He continued teaching at both the College and the Academy until his death, in 1882, Randegger was elected an honorary member of the Royal Philharmonic Society. As a composer, in addition to his works, Randegger wrote a comic opera, The Rival Beauties, the vocal scenas Medea. He also edited collections of vocal music and collaborated with T. J. H. Marzials on the libretto for Arthur Goring Thomass opera Esmeralda. Randegger served as director of the Carl Rosa Opera Company from 1879 to 1885. Upon the resignation of Julius Benedict in 1881, he became conductor of the Norwich Musical Festival. From 1885 to 1887, he also conducted Henry Leslies Choir and he conducted the Queens Hall Choral Society and the first two seasons of symphony concerts at Queens Hall from 1895 to 1897. Finally, from 1887 to 1898, he conducted at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and at the Royal Opera House, randeggers most important legacy, outside of his conducting, was a textbook entitled Singing, published in 1879 by Novello & Co, which is still used. In 1882, Randegger was elected a member of the Royal Philharmonic Society. Randegger was married first to the actress Adeline de Leuw whom he divorced in 1892, Randegger died at his home in London at the age of 79. 1911 encyclopedia profile Obituary, Alberto Randegger, Born April 13,1832, Died December 18,1911, The Musical Times, Vol.53, No

Alberto Randegger
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Randegger circa 1879

12.
Dickens
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Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the worlds best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era and his works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity, born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors prison. Dickenss literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers, within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the publication of narrative fiction. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audiences reaction, and he modified his plot. For example, when his wifes chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities and his plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the poor chipped in hapennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up. Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age and his 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also adapted, and, like many of his novels. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London, Dickens has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for his realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of depth, loose writing. The term Dickensian is used to something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812, at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport in Portsea Island and his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office and was temporarily stationed in the district. He asked Christopher Huffam, rigger to His Majestys Navy, gentleman, Huffam is thought to be the inspiration for Paul Dombey, the owner of a shipping company in Dickenss eponymous Dombey and Son. In January 1815 John Dickens was called back to London, when Charles was four, they relocated to Sheerness, and thence to Chatham, Kent, where he spent his formative years until the age of 11. His early life seems to have been idyllic, though he himself a very small. Charles spent time outdoors but also read voraciously, including the novels of Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding, as well as Robinson Crusoe

Dickens
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Dickens in New York, 1867
Dickens
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Charles Dickens's birthplace, 393 Commercial Road, Portsmouth
Dickens
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2 Ordnance Terrace, Chatham, Dickens's home 1817 – May 1821
Dickens
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Illustration by Fred Bernard of Dickens at work in a shoe-blacking factory after his father had been sent to the Marshalsea, published in the 1892 edition of Forster's Life of Dickens

13.
Broken Hearts
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A broken heart is a term metaphor for the intense emotional—and sometimes physical—stress or pain one feels at experiencing great longing. The concept is cross-cultural, often cited reference to a desired or lost lover. Emotional pain that is severe can cause broken heart syndrome, including damage to the heart. The emotional pain of a heart is believed to be part of the survival instinct. The social-attachment system uses the system to encourage humans to maintain their close social relationships by causing pain when those relationships are lost. The concept is believed to be universal, with many using the same words to describe both physical pain and the feelings associated with relationship loss. The same researchers mention effect of social stressors on the heart, a 2011 study showed that the same regions of the brain that become active in response to painful sensory experiences are activated during intense social rejection or social loss in general. Social psychologist Ethan Kross from University of Michigan, who was involved in the study, said. The research implicates the secondary somatosensory cortex and the posterior insula. For most bereaved individuals, the journey through grief will ultimately culminate in a level of adjustment to a life without their loved one. The Kübler-Ross model postulates that there are five stages of grief after the loss of a loved-one, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, ruminating, or having intrusive thoughts that are continuous, uncontrollable, and distressing, is often a component of grieving. When rejection is involved, shame may also be involved – the painful feeling of being inherently unacceptable, disposable, in one study, 24% of mourners were depressed at two months, 23% at seven months, 16% at 13 months and 14% at 25 months. Although there are overlapping symptoms, uncomplicated grief can be distinguished from a depressive episode. Major depression tends to be pervasive and is characterized by significant difficulty in experiencing self-validating. Major depression is composed of a recognizable and stable cluster of debilitating symptoms, accompanied by a protracted and it tends to be persistent and associated with poor work and social functioning, pathological immunological function, and other neurobiological changes, unless treated. In relationship breakups, mourners may turn their anger about the rejection toward themselves and this can deepen the depression and cause narcissistic wounding. A contributing factor to the event is that being left can trigger primal separation fear – the fear of being left with no one to take care of ones vital needs. Mourners may also experience the stress of helplessness

14.
John Hare (actor)
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Sir John Hare, born John Fairs, was an English actor and manager of the Garrick Theatre in London from 1889 to 1895. Hare was born in Giggleswick in Yorkshire and was educated at Giggleswick School and he made his first appearance on the stage at Liverpool in 1864, coming to London in 1865, and acting for ten years with the Bancrofts at the Prince of Waless Theatre. He soon built a reputation, particularly in T. W. Robertsons comedies and he was also a founder and first Shepherd of The Lambs. In association with Mr. and Mrs. William Hunter Kendal at the St. Jamess Theatre from 1879 to 1888, Hare established his popularity in London in important character and men of the world parts. The joint management of Hare and Kendal made this one of the chief centers of the dramatic world for a decade. In 1889 he became lessee and manager of the Garrick Theatre, in 1897 he took the Globe Theatre, where his acting in Pineros The Gay Lord Quex was another personal triumph. He became almost as known in the United States as in England. He retired from the stage by 1912, but a few years appeared in films, including Caste, The Vicar of Wakefield. He died in 1921, aged 77 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Hare, Sir John. John Hare, comedian, 1865-1895, A biography, G

John Hare (actor)
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Sir John Hare
John Hare (actor)
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John Hare in A Pair of Spectacles
John Hare (actor)
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1887 poster for the farewell performance of John Hare as Eccles in Caste

15.
Arthur Wing Pinero
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Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director. Pinero was born in London, the son of Lucy and John Daniel Pinero and his paternal grandfather was from a Sephardic Jewish family, while his other grandparents were from a Christian English background. He studied law at Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution before going on the stage, in 1874 he joined R. H. Wyndhams company at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. He received good notice in Sheridans The Rivals, in 1884, Pinero began writing plays in the late 1870s while at the Lyceum, including Daisys Escape in 1879 and Bygones in 1880. He became a prolific and successful playwright, authoring fifty-nine plays and his 1923 romance The Enchanted Cottage was successfully filmed in 1924 and 1945. His House in Order was made into a 1928 silent film starring Tallulah Bankhead, both The Magistrate and Dandy Dick were made into films starring Will Hay. His opera in the style of a morality play, The Beauty Stone, has grown somewhat in popularity in recent years, having gained a recording. In Pineros 1888 play Sweet Lavender, which was so popular that it ran for an extraordinary,683 performances, Pinero was knighted in 1909, becoming the second man to be knighted for services to drama alone after W. S. Gilbert. While tremendously popular in his day, his plays are rarely revived, even in his final years he saw his work starting to go out of style. He died in London in 1934, aged 79, however, The Magistrate was newly produced by the Royal National Theatre and ran from November 2012 – January 2013, in the Olivier Theatre starting John Lithgow and Nancy Carroll among others. After much trial and error, he hit on a solution to this recurring problem. At rehearsal, he would explain loudly and clearly how he wanted the scene played, then he would take his place in the stalls, to watch the woman playing it her own way, not his. Immediately he would rush up and shout, Perfect, perfect, play it exactly like that on the night. And for some reason, on the night, they would play it his way, a word of warning, therefore, is neither gratuitous nor unfriendly. The temper of this country, slow to rouse, is becoming an ugly one, the gate may fall from its hinges. Pinero, A Theatrical Life, John Dawick

16.
Mrs. John Wood
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Mrs. John Wood, born Matilda Charlotte Vining, was an English actress and theatre manager. Born into a family, Vining travelled the country as a child actor. Over time, she developed a talent for comedy, in 1854, Matilda Vining married John Wood, an English actor. The couple moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where became involved in American theatre. Her first part in the United States was Gertrude in A Loan of a Lover on 11 September 1854, the Woods played Boston for three seasons and for the first three months of their third, appeared at the Wallacks Theatre in New York City. New York was already the centre of American theatre, and Mrs. John Wood came to outshine her husband. T. Allston Brown, a historian of the theatre, offers this explanation for her fame, Mrs. John Wood was a very pretty woman, possessing a fine figure. Her style was excellent in everything she attempted and she possessed the artistic talent which satisfied every demand that could be made by the most rigid stickler for a high degree of merit in a theatrical artist. Mr. and Mrs. John Wood again played Wallacks in the summer of 1857, then moved to San Francisco, there they played Maguires Opera House on 18 January 1858. This season, Mrs. John Wood gained renown for her roles in Hi-a-wa-tha, or, Ardent Spirit and Laughing Waters and Loves Disguises. She may have managed two theatres during this period, the Forrest Theatre in Sacramento for a few weeks in 1858, in mid-1859, Mrs. John Wood parted ways with her husband, daughter, and mother and returned to New York. There she joined Dion Boucicaults troupe at the Winter Garden Theatre, Mrs. Wood and Boucicault clashed, so Mrs. Wood decided to tour New York independently for three seasons. The song was well-received and encored seven times, contributing to the popularity of the song as a Civil War anthem for the Confederacy, Mrs. Wood met Laura Keene in the summer of 1860 while playing at Keenes playhouse, which was renamed the Olympic Theatre in 1863. She managed Jane Englishs Theatre from its reopening on 8 October 1863, soon after, she became manager of the Olympic, which changed its name to Mrs. John Woods Olympic Theatre. She stayed there three seasons, during which she concentrated on burlesques and comedies, on 30 June 1866, Mrs. John Wood departed for England. Mrs. Wood continued her management career at the St. James Theatre in London from 1869 until mid-1872 and she then returned to the United States for the 1872-1873 season, then returned to England. In 1881, she appeared in Foggertys Fairy by W. S. Gilbert, until her retirement in 1893, she managed a number of English theatres. Mrs. Wood died in 1915 at the age of 83, a History of the New York Stage, From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901

17.
Eric Lewis (actor)
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Frederic Lewis Tuffley, better known by his stage name, Eric Lewis, was an English comedian, actor and singer. Lewis began performing in musical sketches in Brighton in the 1870s. He made his London performing debut in 1880 and joined the DOyly Carte Opera Company in 1882, Lewis was born in Northampton and raised in Brighton. Lewis made his first public appearance in musical sketches in local concert halls in Brighton in the late 1870s. He appeared at St. Jamess Hall in Brighton in October 1879 with Arthur Law, by 1880, Lewis had begun presenting comic musical sketches at the Royal Polytechnic Institution and St. Georges Hall, where he sometimes took the place of the comedian Corney Grain. In 1881, he made his London stage debut in Herbert Beerbohm Trees company at the Haymarket Theatre as Pilate Pump in Blue, in 1882, he joined the touring Alice Barth Opera Company, playing a number of roles with them. Lewis joined the DOyly Carte Opera Company in December 1882 as the understudy to George Grossmith in the principal roles of the Gilbert. Grossmith was rarely ill or absent from the stage, however and his only substantial opportunity to play one of the principal comedian roles came when he played Ko-Ko in The Mikado during August and September 1886. Lewis was, however, given several roles in the curtain raisers that often were performed together with the Gilbert. The Carp enjoyed a long run for a curtain raiser. So long, according to Lewiss colleague Rutland Barrington, that at the end of the one night, when Lewis. A voice from the gallery responded, About time, too, in June 1885, Lewis played together with Barrington in an afternoon musical dialogue, Mad to Act, with words by Barrington and music by Wilfred Bendall, at the Japanese Village in Knightsbridge. Frustrated by his position as understudy to an actor who had ever taken ill in four years. Lytton went on to perform with the DOyly Carte Opera Company until 1934, Lewis was soon performing in the West End of London at the Royalty Theatre in April 1887 in Ivy, and in May in a comedy entitled A Tragedy. In June 1887, Lewis performed in a comedietta by Andrew Longmuir called Cleverly Managed, John Wood and also featuring Arthur Cecil. In January 1889, he starred in The Begums Diamonds by J. P. Hurst at the Avenue Theatre. In July of that year, he was back at the Court Theatre starring with Mrs. John Wood, Cecil and Weedon Grossmith in Aunt Jack, a farce by Ralph Lumley. The next year, he had his first big musical comedy success as the foppish Duke of Fayensburg in the successful operetta La Cigale, burnand and Edmond Audran at the Lyric Theatre, starring Geraldine Ulmar

18.
Harley Granville-Barker
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Harley Granville-Barker was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw he increasingly turned to directing and was a figure in British theatre in the Edwardian. As a writer his plays, which tackled difficult and controversial subject matter, Harley Granville-Barker was born in London, England on 25 November 1877. He left school at 14 and began a career in acting, as his career blossomed, he seemed to excel in roles that were a culmination of intelligence and romantic dreaminess. This landed him many such as, Tanner in Man and Superman, Cusins in Major Barbara, Marchbanks in Candida. To be more specific the Dubedat and Cusins characters were written by George Bernard Shaw with Granville-Barker specifically in mind, however, performing no longer appealed to Granville-Barker so he gave it up in 1911. With an interest for theatre still at heart, he decided to focus on directing, some of his first assignments were with the Stage Society, but it wasnt until 1904 when he worked with the Royal Court Theatre that his directing career took off. From 1904 to 1907 he was considered to be one of the reformers of the Edwardian Stage. While working with the Royal Court, he collaborated with J. E. Vedrenne to mount almost 1,000 performances, many of these performances were classics while some were new pieces work. Among the new pieces of work, were plays written by George Bernard Shaw. Granville-Barker often worked with Shaw to assist in staging his plays, as the Vedrenne-Barker seasons closed with the Royal Court, new opportunities opened with the Duke of Yorks Theatre in 1910. This new opportunity reminded Granville-Barker of the need for more repertory companies, in 1904 he collaborated with William Archer to write a book that argued for a national theatre, unfortunately it was a lost cause that became one of the biggest disappointments in his life. However, his efforts did not go to waste but added to the growth of the regional repertory movement in Britain, Granville-Barkers directing career boomed with three famous productions of Shakespeare at the Savoy Theatre The Winters Tale and Twelfth Night during 1912 and A Midsummer Nights Dream in 1914. Granville-Barker took these productions and removed all classic scenery and replaced it with symbolic scenery, the year before he met his first wife, Granville-Barker wrote The Voysey Inheritance which is considered to be a masterpiece of the Edwardian stage. However, his plays did not sit well with the Edwardian audience. They found his plays to be incomprehensible, according to The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, his style was more similar to the styles of Chekhov by putting the action under the surface. Although his audience may not have him, this did not stop Granville-Barker from discussing important issues in society. In 1907 Granville-Barkers play Waste was banned due to the topic of abortion, in 1909, three volumes of his plays, The Voysey Inheritance, Waste and The Marrying of Ann Leete were published in a limited edition of 50 copies printed on handmade paper in a slipcase

19.
The Entertainer (play)
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The Entertainer is a three-act play by John Osborne, first produced in 1957. His first play, Look Back in Anger, had attracted mixed notices, having depicted an angry young man in the earlier play, Osborne wrote, at Laurence Oliviers request, about an angry middle-aged man in The Entertainer. Its main character is Archie Rice, a failing music-hall performer, the first performance was given on 10 April 1957 at the Royal Court Theatre, London. That theatre was known for its commitment to new and nontraditional drama, the play is in three acts, sub-divided into thirteen scenes. Some are set in the Rice familys house, and others show Archie Rice on stage at the music hall, Billy Rice, a retired music-hall star, settles down at home and is interrupted by his granddaughter Jean, making an unannounced visit. They talk about Archie and Phoebe, Archies second wife, Jeans stepmother, Billy speaks negatively of them and of modern society in general. In a music hall, Archie opens the show with a short would-be comic patter, the song is called Why should I care. And ends, If they see that youre blue, theyll look down on you, at the house Billy, Phoebe and Jean drink and talk. Jean explains she had a disagreement with Graham, her fiancé and they also discuss Archies sons, Mick and Frank. Mick is in the army, fighting overseas, but Frank refused to be conscripted and served a jail sentence in consequence. He tells them his show did not go well, and makes some casually bigoted remarks about race and he proposes a toast to the twentieth anniversary of his not paying income tax. Archie learns of Jeans broken engagement but appears unconcerned, Phoebe drinks too much and becomes emotional and retires to bed. Billy also turns in, leaving Archie and Jean alone and he reveals that Mick has been taken prisoner. The next day at the house, the rest of the find out from the newspaper that Mick is a prisoner of war. They take comfort from the report says he will be sent back home. Billy and Phoebe talk about Archies lack of understanding, Billy talks about the good old days and snaps at Phoebe for talking too much. Phoebe talks about Bill, Archies brother, and how he bailed Archie out of a lot of trouble and has treated Phoebe kindly, Archie agrees Bill has been good to them. Frank wants to celebrate Jeans visit and Micks homecoming, Archie gives a monologue about how crazy the family is and how it is hard for Jean to understand them well since she is the sensible one

20.
Laurence Olivier
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Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, was an English actor who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles, late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles. His family had no connections, but Oliviers father, a clergyman. After attending a school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Cowards Private Lives, in 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, there his most celebrated roles included Shakespeares Richard III and Sophocless Oedipus. From 1963 to 1973 he was the director of Britains National Theatre. His own parts there included the role in Othello and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Among Oliviers films are Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director, Henry V, Hamlet and his later films included Sleuth, Marathon Man, and The Boys from Brazil. His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence, Long Days Journey into Night, Love Among the Ruins, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brideshead Revisited, Oliviers honours included a knighthood, a life peerage and the Order of Merit. For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. The National Theatres largest auditorium is named in his honour, and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre. He was married three times, to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, the youngest of the three children of the Revd Gerard Kerr Olivier and his wife Agnes Louise, née Crookenden. Their elder children were Sybille and Gerard Dacres Dickie and his great-great-grandfather was of French Huguenot descent, and Olivier came from a long line of Protestant clergymen. Gerard Olivier had begun a career as a schoolmaster, but in his thirties he discovered a strong religious vocation and was ordained as a priest of the Church of England and he practised extremely high church, ritualist Anglicanism and liked to be addressed as Father Olivier. This made him unacceptable to most Anglican congregations, and the church posts he was offered were temporary. This meant a nomadic existence, and for Laurences first few years, in 1912, when Olivier was five, his father secured a permanent appointment as assistant priest at St Saviours, Pimlico. He held the post for six years, and a family life was at last possible

21.
Communist Party of Great Britain
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The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991, the Communist Party of Great Britain was founded in 1920 after the Third International decided that greater attempts should be made to establish communist parties across the world. Several branches and many members of the Independent Labour Party also affiliated. As a member of the British Socialist Party, the Member of Parliament Cecil LEstrange Malone joined the CPGB, in January 1921, the CPGB was refounded after the majorities of Sylvia Pankhursts group the Communist Party, and the Scottish Communist Labour Party agreed to unity. During the negotiations leading to the initiation of the party a number of issues were hotly contested, among the most contentious were the questions of parliamentarism and the attitude of the Communist Party to the Labour Party. Parliamentarism referred to a strategy of contesting elections and working through existing parliaments and it was a strategy associated with the parties of the Second International and it was partly for this reason that it was opposed by those who wanted to break with Social Democracy. Similarly, affiliation to the Labour Party was opposed on the grounds that communists should not work with reformist Social Democratic parties and these Left Communist positions enjoyed considerable support, being supported by Sylvia Pankhurst and Willie Gallacher among others. However, the Russian Communist Party took the opposing view, initially, therefore, the CPGB attempted to work within the Labour Party, which at this time operated mainly as a federation of left-wing bodies, only having allowed individual membership since 1918. However, despite the support of James Maxton, the Independent Labour Party leader, even while pursuing affiliation and seeking to influence Labour Party members, however, the CPGB promoted candidates of its own at parliamentary elections. Following the refusal of their affiliation, the CPGB encouraged its members to join the Labour Party individually, several Communists thus became Labour Party candidates, and in the 1922 general election, Shapurji Saklatvala and Walton Newbold were both elected. The affair of the forged Zinoviev Letter occurred in late October 1924 and it was probably the work of SIS or White Russian counter revolutionaries. Throughout the 1920s and most of the 1930s the CPGB decided to maintain the doctrine that a communist party should consist of revolutionary cadres, the CPGB as the British section of the Communist International was committed to implementing the decisions of the higher body to which it was subordinate. This proved to be a blessing in the General Strike of 1926 immediately prior to which much of the central leadership of the CPGB was imprisoned. Twelve were charged with seditious conspiracy, five were jailed for a year and the others for six months. Another major problem for the party was its policy of abnegating its own role, the result was that membership of the party in mining areas increased greatly through 1926 and 1927. Much of these gains would be lost during the Third Period, indeed, Maerdy in the Rhondda Valley along with Chopwell in Tyne and Wear were two of a number of communities known as Little Moscow for their Communist tendencies. Any kind of alliance with social-fascists was obviously to be prohibited, the Third Period also meant that the CPGB sought to develop revolutionary trade unions in rivalry to the established Trades Union Congress affiliated unions. They met with an almost total lack of success although a handful of red unions were formed, amongst them a miners union in Scotland

Communist Party of Great Britain
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Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
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Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the CPGB.
Communist Party of Great Britain
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William Alexander, representing to Politburo of the CPGB receives applause from the Presidium of the Fifth Congress of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, East Berlin, 16 July 1958.

22.
Arnold Wesker
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Sir Arnold Wesker FRSL was a British dramatist known for his contributions to world drama. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of stories, two volumes of essays, a book on journalism, a childrens book, extensive journalism, poetry. His plays have been translated into up to 20 different languages, Wesker was born in Stepney, London, in 1932, the son of Leah, a cook, and Joseph Wesker, a tailors machinist, and an active communist. He was delivered by Samuel Sacks, father of neurologist Oliver Sacks and he attended a Jewish Infants School in Whitechapel. His education was then fragmented during World War II and he was briefly evacuated to Ely, Cambridgeshire, before returning to London where he attended Dean Street School during the Blitz. He then returned to live with his parents who had moved to a flat in Hackney, East London. He then attended Upton House Central School, Hackney, from 1943 and this was a school where emphasis was placed on teaching office skills including typing to brighter boys who had not been selected for grammar school places. He was then evacuated again to Llantrisant, South Wales and he was accepted in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but could not afford to take up his place there. Later he went on to work as cook, furniture maker, bookseller, Weskers play Roots was a kitchen sink drama about a girl, Beatie Bryant, who returns after three years of stay in London to her farming family home at Norfolk and struggles to voice herself. Critics commended the emotional authenticity brought out in the play, Roots, The Kitchen, and Their Very Own and Golden City were staged by the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre under the management of George Devine and later William Gaskill. His inspiration for 1957 play The Kitchen, which was made into a film. It was while working here that he met his future wife Dusty, Weskers plays have dealt with themes including self-discovery, love, confronting death and political disillusion. Wesker joined with enthusiasm the Royal Court group on the Aldermaston March in 1959, another of the Royal Court contingent, Lindsay Anderson, made a short documentary film about the event. He was an member of the Committee of 100 and. He founded the Roundhouses first theatre, called Centre 42, in 1964 and he co-founded the Writers & Readers Publishing Cooperative Ltd with a group of writers that included John Berger, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Appignanesi, Chris Searle and Glenn Thompson, in 1974. Weskers play The Merchant uses the three stories used by Shakespeare for his play The Merchant of Venice. In this retelling, Shylock and Antonio are fast friends bound by a love of books, culture. They make the bond in defiant mockery of the Christian establishment, when it does, the play argues, Shylock must carry through on the letter of the law or jeopardize the scant legal security of the entire Jewish community

Arnold Wesker
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Wesker at the Durham Book Festival in 2008

23.
Martin Crimp
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Martin Andrew Crimp is a British playwright. Crimp is sometimes described as a practitioner of the school of contemporary British drama. But when his father was transferred to York, he went to the nearby Pocklington School and he read English at St Catharines College, Cambridge 1975–78, where his first play Clang was staged by fellow student Roger Michell. Before establishing himself as a playwright, he put together An Anatomy, a collection of short stories and his first six plays were performed at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. As he told Marsha Hanlon in an interview for the Orange Tree appeal brochure in 1991, When the Orange Tree ran a workshop for local writers, I was invited to take part. The carrot was the chance of a production, so I wrote Living Remains. I was so excited that I didnt think about the space where it was performed, seven of his plays, and his second Ionesco translation have also been presented at the Royal Court Theatre, London, where he became writer-in-residence in 1997. His plays are now performed in Europe. He has also been a translator of European texts. In this work, none of the lines are assigned to a particular character, Theatre Record and its annual indexes Sierz, Aleks The Theatre of Martin Crimp, Methuen ISBN 0-413-77588-7. Devine, Harriet Looking Back, Faber ISBN 0-413-77588-7, edgar, David Each Scene for Itself, London Review of Books 4 March 1999 Literary Encyclopedia page on Martin Crimp

Martin Crimp
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Crimp (centre) at the Théâtre des Abbesses, Paris

24.
Polly Stenham
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Polly Stenham is an English playwright known for her play That Face, which she wrote when 19 years old. The daughter of Anthony Cob Stenham, a City businessman, she had contact with her mother after her parents divorce. She attributes her love of theatre to her father, as he took her to shows from a young age. Educated at the boarding school Wycombe Abbey and later Rugby, she spent a gap year travelling and working for the Ambassador Theatre Group. It was during this time that she enrolled in the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and wrote her first play. She began a degree in English at University College London, but abandoned her place to work on her debut play after hearing it was to be staged, stenhams debut play That Face premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in April 2007. It was directed by Jeremy Herrin and starred Lindsay Duncan as the alcoholic mother Martha, Stenham won the Evening Standards 2007 Charles Wintour Award, the Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and the 2007 Theatrical Management Association Award for Best New Play. Its author, Polly Stenham, a graduate of the Royal Courts Young Writers Programme, is 20 now, in every respect this is a remarkable and unforgettable piece of theatre. Her second play, Tusk Tusk premiered in the theatre at the Royal Court in March 2009 directed by Jeremy Herrin. She is currently adapting her first two plays for the screen, as well as working on a screenplay called Dope Girls for Film Four about the first ever cocaine scandal to be directed by Adam Smith. In 2011 Stenham, along with friend Victoria Williams, opened an art gallery, in 2013 her third play No Quarter was staged at the Royal Court, directed by Jeremy Herrin and starring Tom Sturridge. In 2013 film director Nicolas Winding Refn confirmed I Walk With the Dead as his next project and they stated that the film will have an all female cast. Refn admitted that he asked Stenham to write the screenplay to tackle his own perceived inability to write female characters, the project was later renamed The Neon Demon and was released in June 2016 to mixed reviews. Stenham lives in Highgate in London in her fathers old house with several friends and she is a fan of Radioheads album In Rainbows, which she says she listened to constantly while writing Tusk Tusk

Polly Stenham
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Polly Stenham

25.
Samuel Beckett
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Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in Paris for most of his adult life and wrote in both English and French. He is widely regarded as among the most influential writers of the 20th century, Becketts work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human existence, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour, and became increasingly minimalist in his later career. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esslin called the Theatre of the Absurd. Beckett was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature for his writing, which—in new forms for the novel and he was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1984. The Becketts were members of the Anglican Church of Ireland, the family home, Cooldrinagh in the Dublin suburb of Foxrock, was a large house and garden complete with tennis court built in 1903 by Samuels father, William. Samuel Beckett was born on Good Friday,13 April 1906, to William Frank Beckett, a quantity surveyor and descendant of the Huguenots, and Maria Jones Roe, a nurse, Beckett had one older brother, Frank Edward Beckett. At the age of five, Beckett attended a local playschool, where he started to learn music, in 1919, Beckett went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. A natural athlete, Beckett excelled at cricket as a left-handed batsman, later, he was to play for Dublin University and played two first-class games against Northamptonshire. As a result, he became the only Nobel literature laureate to have played first class cricket, Beckett studied French, Italian, and English at Trinity College, Dublin from 1923 to 1927. He was elected a Scholar in Modern Languages in 1926, Beckett graduated with a BA and, after teaching briefly at Campbell College in Belfast, took up the post of lecteur danglais at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris from November 1928 to 1930. While there, he was introduced to renowned Irish author James Joyce by Thomas MacGreevy and this meeting had a profound effect on the young man. Beckett assisted Joyce in various ways, one of which was research towards the book that became Finnegans Wake, in 1929, Beckett published his first work, a critical essay entitled Dante. Becketts close relationship with Joyce and his family cooled, however, Becketts first short story, Assumption, was published in Jolass periodical transition. In 1930, Beckett returned to Trinity College as a lecturer, in November 1930, he presented a paper in French to the Modern Languages Society of Trinity on the Toulouse poet Jean du Chas, founder of a movement called le Concentrisme. It was a parody, for Beckett had in fact invented the poet and his movement that claimed to be at odds with all that is clear. Beckett later insisted that he had not intended to fool his audience, when Beckett resigned from Trinity at the end of 1931, his brief academic career was at an end. He spent some time in London, where in 1931 he published Proust, two years later, following his fathers death, he began two years treatment with Tavistock Clinic psychoanalyst Dr. Wilfred Bion. Aspects of it became evident in Becketts later works, such as Watt, in 1932, he wrote his first novel, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, but after many rejections from publishers decided to abandon it

26.
Jean-Paul Sartre
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Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism and phenomenology and his work has also influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies, and continues to influence these disciplines. Sartre was also noted for his relationship with prominent feminist. Together, Sartre and de Beauvoir challenged the cultural and social assumptions and expectations of their upbringings, Sartres introduction to his philosophy is his work Existentialism and Humanism, originally presented as a lecture. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature but refused it, saying that he always declined official honours, Jean-Paul Sartre was born on 21 June 1905 in Paris as the only child of Jean-Baptiste Sartre, an officer of the French Navy, and Anne-Marie Schweitzer. His mother was of Alsatian origin and the first cousin of Nobel Prize laureate Albert Schweitzer, when Sartre was two years old, his father died of a fever overseas. When he was twelve, Sartres mother remarried, and the moved to La Rochelle. As a teenager in the 1920s, Sartre became attracted to philosophy upon reading Henri Bergsons essay Time and Free Will and he attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school in Paris. It was at ENS that Sartre began his lifelong, sometimes fractious, perhaps the most decisive influence on Sartres philosophical development was his weekly attendance at Alexandre Kojèves seminars, which continued for a number of years. From his first years in the École Normale, Sartre was one of its fiercest pranksters, in 1927, his antimilitarist satirical cartoon in the revue of the school, coauthored with Georges Canguilhem, particularly upset the director Gustave Lanson. Many newspapers, including Le Petit Parisien, announced the event on 25 May, thousands, including journalists and curious spectators, showed up, unaware that what they were witnessing was a stunt involving a Lindbergh look-alike. The publics resultant outcry forced Lanson to resign, in 1929 at the École Normale, he met Simone de Beauvoir, who studied at the Sorbonne and later went on to become a noted philosopher, writer, and feminist. The two became inseparable and lifelong companions, initiating a romantic relationship, though they were not monogamous, the first time Sartre took the exam to become a college instructor, he failed. He took it a time and virtually tied for first place with Beauvoir, although Sartre was eventually awarded first place in his class. Sartre was drafted into the French Army from 1929 to 1931 and he later argued in 1959 that each French person was responsible for the collective crimes during the Algerian War of Independence. From 1931 until 1945, Sartre taught at various lycées of Le Havre, Laon, in 1932, Sartre discovered Voyage au bout de la nuit by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, a book that had a remarkable influence on him. In 1933–34, he succeeded Raymond Aron at the Institut français dAllemagne in Berlin where he studied Edmund Husserls phenomenological philosophy, Aron had already advised him in 1930 to read Emmanuel Levinass Théorie de l’intuition dans la phénoménologie de Husserl. The Neo-Hegelian revival led by Alexandre Kojève and Jean Hyppolite in the 1930s inspired a generation of French thinkers, including Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre
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Sartre in 1950
Jean-Paul Sartre
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French journalists visit General George C. Marshall at his office in the Pentagon building, 1945
Jean-Paul Sartre
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Jean-Paul Sartre (middle) and Simone de Beauvoir (left) meeting with Che Guevara (right) in Cuba, 1960
Jean-Paul Sartre
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Sketch of Sartre for the New York Times by Reginald Gray, 1965

27.
Proscenium arch
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The concept of the fourth wall of the theatre stage space that faces the audience is essentially the same. It can be considered as a construct which divides the actors. But since the curtain comes down just behind the proscenium arch, it has a physical reality when the curtain is down. A proscenium stage is different from a thrust stage or an arena stage. Skene is the Greek word for the tent, and later building, at the back of the stage from which actors entered, in the Hellenistic period it became an increasingly large and elaborate stone structure, often with three storeys. In Greek theatre, which unlike Roman included painted scenery, the proskenion might also carry scenery, in the Greek and Roman theatre, no proscenium arch existed, in the modern sense, and the acting space was always fully in the view of the audience. Modern halls designed mainly for orchestral music often adopt similar arrangements, the oldest surviving indoor theatre of the modern era, the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the first example of a proscenium theatre. The Teatro Olimpico was a reconstruction of a Roman theatre. It has a plain proscaenium at the front of the stage, dropping to the level, now usually containing stalls seating. However, the Teatro Olimpicos exact replication of the open and accessible Roman stage was the rather than the rule in sixteenth-century theatre design. Engravings suggest that the arch was already in use as early as 1560 at a production in Siena. The earliest true proscenium arch to survive in a permanent theatre is the Teatro Farnese in Parma, Parma has a clearly defined arco scenico—more like a picture frame than an arch, but serving the same purpose—outlining the stage and separating the audience from the action on-stage. While the proscenium arch became an important feature of the traditional European theatre, often becoming very large and elaborate, what the Romans would have called the proscaenium is, in modern theatres with orchestra pits, normally painted black in order that it does not draw attention. In this early modern recreation of a Roman theatre confusion seems to have introduced to the use of the revived term in Italian. There is no evidence at all for this assumption, the Italian word for a scaenae frons is proscenio, a major change from Latin. It would also be possible to retain the classical frons scaenae. The Italian arco scenico has been translated as proscenium arch, the result is that in this theatre the architectural spaces for the audience and the action. Are distinct in treatment yet united by their juxtaposition, no proscenium arch separates them, a proscenium arch creates a window around the scenery and performers. A proscenium theatre layout also simplifies the hiding and obscuring of objects from the audiences view, anything that is not meant to be seen is simply placed outside the window created by the proscenium arch, either in the wings or in the flyspace above the stage

Proscenium arch
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The interior of the Auditorium Building in Chicago built in 1887. The rectangular frame around the stage is the proscenium "arch".
Proscenium arch
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View of the seating area and part of the stage at the Teatro Olimpico (1585) in Vicenza, Italy. No proscenium arch divides the seating area from the "proscenium" (stage), and the space between the two has been made as open as possible, without endangering the structural integrity of the building.
Proscenium arch
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The "proscenium" (stage) at the Teatro Olimpico. The central archway in the scaenae frons (or proscenio) was too small to serve as a proscenium arch in the modern sense, and was in practice always part of the backdrop to the action on-stage.

28.
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
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The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom. It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994,2001, the lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the government of John Major in 1994. All prizes are paid as a sum and are tax-free. 5% to cover operating costs and 0. 5% as profit. Lottery tickets and scratch cards may be only by people of at least 16 years of age. A statute of 1698 provided that in England lotteries were by default illegal unless specifically authorised by statute, early English state lotteries included the Million Lottery and the Malt Lottery. These Lotteries were part of a series of experiments by the English government including recoinage. A1934 Act, further liberalised in 1956 and 1976, legalised small lotteries, the UKs state-franchised lottery was set up under government licence by the government of John Major in 1993. The National Lottery is franchised to an operator, the Camelot Group was awarded the franchise on 25 May 1994. The first draw took place on 19 November 1994 with a programme presented by Noel Edmonds. The first numbers drawn were 30,3,5,44,14 and 22, the bonus was 10, tickets became available on the Isle of Man on 2 December 1999 at the request of Tynwald. The National Lottery undertook a rebranding programme in late 2002 designed to combat falling sales. The main game was renamed Lotto, and the National Lottery Extra became Lotto Extra, the stylized crossed-fingers logo was modified. However, the games as a collective are still known as the National Lottery and it is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United Kingdom. In November 2009 Camelot replaced its older Lotto draw machines, the new machines are named Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and Merlin, reusing the names of older machines. At the same time, new machines for the Thunderball game were introduced, the new Lotto machines are the Magnum II model, manufactured by Smartplay International Inc. and the new Thunderball machines are the Smartplay Halogen II model. The ticket purchaser for a syndicate, typically its manager, must meet the eligibility criteria for ticket purchase, in the draw, six numbered balls are drawn without replacement from a set of 59 balls numbered from 1 to 59. A further Bonus Ball is also drawn, which only players who match five numbers. Prizes are awarded to players who match at least three of the six numbers, with prizes increasing for matching more of the drawn numbers

National Lottery (United Kingdom)
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Two lottery ticket stands in a supermarket
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
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Logo used 2015-present

29.
Stephen Daldry
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Stephen David Daldry, CBE is an English director and producer of both film and theatre. He has won two Olivier Awards for his work in the West End and a Tony Award for his work on Broadway and he has directed several feature films that have been nominated for Best Director and/or Best Picture at the Academy Awards. These films are Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader and Extremely Loud, Daldry was born in Dorset, England, the son of bank manager Patrick Daldry and singer Cherry. The family moved to Taunton, Somerset, where his father died of cancer when Daldry was aged 14, after graduation, he spent a year travelling through Italy, where he became a clowns apprentice. Returning to Sheffield, he became an apprentice at the Crucible Theatre from 1985–1988 and he then trained as an actor at East 15 Acting School, London. Daldry began his career at the Sheffield Crucible with Artistic Director Clare Venables where he directed many productions and he also headed many productions at the Manchester Library Theatre, Liverpool Playhouse, Stratford East, Oxford Stage, Brighton and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was also Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre from 1992–98 and he was also Artistic Director of Londons Gate Theatre and the Metro Theatre Company. He is currently on the Board of the Young and Old Vic Theatres and he was the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre for 2002 at St Catherines College, Oxford. He won awards on Broadway as well as the West End, Daldry made his feature film directorial debut with Billy Elliot. His next film was The Hours, and it won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for Nicole Kidman, recently, he directed a stage musical adaptation of Billy Elliot, and in 2009 his work on it earned him a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. He has also made a version of The Reader, based on the book of the same name and starring Kate Winslet, David Kross. The film won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for Kate Winslet and he has received an Academy Award nomination for directing three of his five films. Daldry was planning to direct an adaptation of Michael Chabons Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay in 2005. In the ensuing three years, the project was cancelled and reinitiated several times, and in late 2006 was partially cast with Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire. According to Chabon, production then stalled due to studio-politics kinds of reasons that Im not privy to, the screenplay was written by Eric Roth. The film received a nomination for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards and he was previously in a relationship with set designer Ian MacNeil for 13 years. They met at a production of Alice in Wonderland in Lancaster in 1988

Stephen Daldry
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Daldry in November 2013

30.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church

31.
Lindsay Anderson
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Lindsay Gordon Anderson was a British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for his 1968 film if. which won the Palme dOr at Cannes Film Festival and was Malcolm McDowells cinematic debut. He is also notable, though not an actor, for playing a minor role in the Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire. Malcolm McDowell produced a 2007 documentary about his experiences with Lindsay Anderson, of Scottish parentage, Anderson was the son of a British Army officer. After graduating, Anderson worked for the year of World War II as a cryptographer for the Intelligence Corps. Anderson assisted in nailing the Red flag to the roof of the Junior Officers mess in Annan Parbat, in August 1945, the colonel did not approve, he recalled a decade later, but no disciplinary action was taken against them. In a 1956 polemical article, Stand Up, Stand Up for Sight and Sound, he attacked contemporary critical practices, …The denial of the critics moral responsibility is specific, but only at the cost of sacrificing his dignity. This was the belief that the British cinema must break away from its class-bound attitudes and he had already begun to make films himself, starting in 1948 with Meet the Pioneers, a documentary about a conveyor-bet factory. Along with Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson, and others, he secured funding from a variety of sources, Andersons film met with mixed reviews at the time, and was not a commercial success. Anderson is perhaps best remembered as a filmmaker for his Mick Travis trilogy, all of which star Malcolm McDowell as the title character, a satire on public schools, O Lucky Man. In 1981, Anderson played the role of the Master of Caius College at Cambridge University in the film Chariots of Fire. Anderson developed an acquaintance from 1950 with John Ford, which led to what has come to be regarded as one of the books on that director. Based on half a dozen meetings over more than two decades, and a study of the mans work, the book has been described as One of the best books published by a film-maker on a film-maker. In 1985, producer Martin Lewis invited Anderson to chronicle Wham. s visit to China, the visit by Western pop artists. He admitted in his diary on 31 March 1985, to having no interest in Wham. or China, in 1986, he was a member of the jury at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival. Anderson was also a significant British theatre director, every year, the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam gives an acclaimed filmmaker the chance to screen his or her personal Top 10 favorite films. Gavin Lamberts memoir, Mainly About Lindsay Anderson, in which he claimed that Anderson repressed his homosexuality, was seen as a betrayal by his other friends. In November 2006 Malcolm McDowell told The Independent, I know that he was in love with Richard Harris the star of Andersons first feature, I am sure that it was the same with me and Albert Finney and the rest

Lindsay Anderson
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Lindsay Anderson

32.
Michael Billington (critic)
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Michael Keith Billington OBE is a British author and arts critic. Billington was born on 16 November 1939, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, and attended Warwick School and he attended St Catherines College, Oxford from 1958 to 1961, graduating with a BA degree. After leaving Oxford, in 1961, Billington began working as a critic in Liverpool. From 1962 to 1964, he served as liaison officer and director for the Lincoln Theatre Company. In October 1971, he left The Times to become theatre critic for The Guardian, beginning in the 1980s, he was a London arts correspondent for The New York Times, and, since 1988, he has also served as drama critic for Country Life. Billingtons broadcasting career had begun by 1965, philip French, then a BBC radio producer, asked him to review two short radio plays by the then virtually unknown Tom Stoppard which were being broadcast on the BBC Third Programme. Later, he was a presenter in Critics Forum, which ended in 1990, and he has contributed to other British arts and drama radio and television programmes. In April 2007, Billington presented a paper on Is British Theatre As Good As It Claims. Billington has spoken about the book at venues, including the Warwick Arts Centre, at the University of Warwick. At the end of January and that it will be released first as an e-book and he is currently writing a biography of Dion Boucicault, which will be published only in braille. Billington blogs for guardian. co. uk and formerly also for Whatsonstage. com, Billington married Jeanine Bradlaugh in 1978, they have one daughter and live in London. He is a supporter of the Labour Party, Billington was made an Honorary Fellow of St Catherines College, Oxford in 2005 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The University of Warwick in July 2009. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to the theatre, books by Billington The Modern Actor. How Tickled I Am, A Celebration of Ken Dodd, one Night Stands, A Critics View of British Theatre 1971–1991. The Life and Work of Harold Pinter, state of the Nation, British Theatre since 1945. Book reviews The Life and Work of Harold Pinter, salem on Literature, Magill Book Reviews. Whos Who 2007, An Annual Biographical Dictionary, London, A & C Black,2007. Featured Alumni, Michael Billington, Author and Arts Critic, St Catherines College, international Whos Who of Authors and Writers 2004

Michael Billington (critic)
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Michael Billington, 22 April 2010

33.
The Guardian
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The Guardian is a British daily newspaper, known from 1821 until 1959 as the Manchester Guardian. Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, the Scott Trust became a limited company in 2008, with a constitution to maintain the same protections for The Guardian. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than to the benefit of an owner or shareholders, the Guardian is edited by Katharine Viner, who succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. In 2016, The Guardians print edition had a daily circulation of roughly 162,000 copies in the country, behind The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper has an online UK edition as well as two international websites, Guardian Australia and Guardian US, the newspapers online edition was the fifth most widely read in the world in October 2014, with over 42.6 million readers. Its combined print and online editions reach nearly 9 million British readers, notable scoops include the 2011 News International phone hacking scandal, in particular the hacking of murdered English teenager Milly Dowlers phone. The investigation led to the closure of the UKs biggest selling Sunday newspaper, and one of the highest circulation newspapers in the world, in 2016, it led the investigation into the Panama Papers, exposing the then British Prime Minister David Camerons links to offshore bank accounts. The Guardian has been named Newspaper of the Year four times at the annual British Press Awards, the paper is still occasionally referred to by its nickname of The Grauniad, given originally for the purported frequency of its typographical errors. The Manchester Guardian was founded in Manchester in 1821 by cotton merchant John Edward Taylor with backing from the Little Circle and they launched their paper after the police closure of the more radical Manchester Observer, a paper that had championed the cause of the Peterloo Massacre protesters. They do not toil, neither do they spin, but they better than those that do. When the government closed down the Manchester Observer, the champions had the upper hand. The influential journalist Jeremiah Garnett joined Taylor during the establishment of the paper, the prospectus announcing the new publication proclaimed that it would zealously enforce the principles of civil and religious Liberty. Warmly advocate the cause of Reform, endeavour to assist in the diffusion of just principles of Political Economy and. Support, without reference to the party from which they emanate, in 1825 the paper merged with the British Volunteer and was known as The Manchester Guardian and British Volunteer until 1828. The working-class Manchester and Salford Advertiser called the Manchester Guardian the foul prostitute, the Manchester Guardian was generally hostile to labours claims. The Manchester Guardian dismissed strikes as the work of outside agitators –, if an accommodation can be effected, the occupation of the agents of the Union is gone. CP Scott made the newspaper nationally recognised and he was editor for 57 years from 1872, and became its owner when he bought the paper from the estate of Taylors son in 1907. Under Scott, the moderate editorial line became more radical, supporting William Gladstone when the Liberals split in 1886

The Guardian
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The Guardian front page on 6 June 2014
The Guardian
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The Guardian senior news writer Esther Addley interviewing Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño for this article relating to Julian Assange (August 2014)
The Guardian
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The Guardian's HQ in London
The Guardian
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The Guardian' s Newsroom visitor centre and archive (No 60), with an old sign with the name The Manchester Guardian

34.
Blood libel
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Blood libel is an accusation that Jews kidnapped and murdered the children of Christians in order to use their blood as part of their religious rituals during Jewish holidays. Historically, these claims – alongside those of well poisoning and host desecration – have been a theme of the persecution of Jews in Europe. In some cases, the victim of human sacrifice has become venerated as a martyr. Three of these – William of Norwich, Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln, and Simon of Trent – became objects of local sects and veneration, one, Gavriil Belostoksky, was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. In Jewish lore, blood libels were the impetus for the creation of the Golem of Prague by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel in the 16th century. According to Walter Laqueur, Altogether, there have been about 150 recorded cases of blood libel resulted in the arrest and killing of Jews throughout history. In almost every case, Jews were murdered, sometimes by a mob, sometimes following torture, the term blood libel can also refer to any unpleasant and damaging false accusation, and has taken on a broader metaphorical meaning. However, this remains controversial and has been protested by Jewish groups. The supposed torture and human sacrifice alleged in the blood libels run contrary to the teachings of Judaism, according to the Bible, God commanded Abraham in the Binding of Isaac to sacrifice his son, but ultimately provided a ram as a substitute. The Ten Commandments in the Torah forbid murder, in addition, the use of blood in cooking is prohibited by the kosher dietary laws. Blood from slaughtered animals may not be consumed, and must be drained out of the animal, according to the Book of Leviticus, blood from sacrificed animals may only be placed on the altar of the Great Temple in Jerusalem. Furthermore, consumption of human flesh would violate kashrut, while animal sacrifice was part of the practice of ancient Judaism, the Tanakh and Jewish teachings portray human sacrifice as one of the evils that separated the pagans of Canaan from the Hebrews. Jews were prohibited from engaging in rituals and were punished for doing so. In fact, ritual cleanliness for priests prohibited them from even being in the room as a human corpse. The earliest versions of the accusation involved Jews crucifying Christian children at Easter/Passover because of a prophecy, there is no reference to the use of blood in unleavened matzo bread, which evolves later as a major motivation for the crime. The Graeco-Egyptian author Apion claimed that Jews sacrificed Greek victims in their temple and this accusation is known from Josephus rebuttal of it in Against Apion. Apion states that when Antiochus Epiphanes entered the temple in Jerusalem, every year, Apion claimed, the Jews would sacrifice a Greek and consume his flesh, at the same time swearing eternal hatred to Greeks. Apions claim probably repeats ideas already in circulation as similar claims are made by Posidonius and Apollonius Molon in the 1st century BC, another example concerns the murder of a Christian boy by a group of Jewish youths

Blood libel
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The crucifixion of William of Norwich depicted on a rood screen in Holy Trinity church, Loddon, Norfolk
Blood libel
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Painting of Werner of Oberwesel as a martyr
Blood libel
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From an 18th-century etching from Brückenturm. Above: The murdered body of Simon of Trent. Below: The " Judensau."
Blood libel
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Fresco in St Paul's Church in Sandomierz, Poland, depicting blood libel

35.
Jeffrey Goldberg
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Jeffrey Mark Goldberg is an American journalist and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. During his nine years at The Atlantic prior to becoming editor and he has won many awards and written eleven cover stories for the magazine. Goldberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Ellen and Daniel Goldberg and he grew up in suburban Malverne on Long Island, where he recalled being one of the few Jews in a largely Irish-American area. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was editor-in-chief of The Daily Pennsylvanian, while at Penn he worked at the Hillel kitchen serving lunch to students. Goldberg lives in Washington, D. C. with his wife, Pamela Reeves, Goldberg returned to the United States and began his career at The Washington Post, where he was a police reporter. In October 2000, Goldberg joined The New Yorker, in 2007, he was hired by David G. Bradley to write for The Atlantic. Bradley had tried to convince Goldberg to come work for The Atlantic for nearly two years, and was successful after renting ponies for Goldbergs children. In 2011, Goldberg joined Bloomberg View as a columnist, and his editorials are also syndicated online, often appearing on such sites as Newsday. Goldberg concluded writing for Bloomberg in 2014, Goldberg was a journalist with The Atlantic before becoming editor-in-chief. Goldberg wrote principally on foreign affairs, with a focus on the Middle East and he has been described as a neoconservative, a liberal, a Zionist and a critic of Israel. The New York Times reported that he shaped the magazines endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election, in April 2016, Goldberg published The Obama Doctrine, which was featured as the Atlantics April 2016 cover story. Goldberg has conducted five major interviews with President Barack Obama since 2008, in this latest interview, Mr. Along the way, Mr. Obama and Mr. Goldberg hash over the nature of the sometimes turbulent Israeli-American relationship. In April 2015, Goldberg published Is It Time for the Jews to Leave Europe, Goldbergs essay explores the state of the Jewish communities across Europe, especially in light of the resurgence of anti-Semitism and attacks against Jews in Europe. Historian Diana Pinto, who is of Italian Jewish descent, wrote a rejoinder to Goldbergs article in The New Republic, arguing that his article is excessively dire. In April 2013, Goldberg published an article on the Jordanian King Abdullah and his governments approach to reform in the wake of the 2011 protests around the Arab world. In discussing a meeting between the King and the Jordanian tribes, Goldberg quotes the King as saying I’m sitting with the old dinosaurs today. ”However, in defending the accuracy of his quotes, Goldberg later tweeted, I just spoke to a top official of the Jordanian royal court. He said they are not contesting the accuracy of quotes in my Atlantic piece, in September 2010, Goldberg wrote the cover story for The Atlantic, which examined the potential consequences of an Israeli attack on Irans nuclear facilities. After reading the article, Fidel Castro invited Goldberg to Cuba to talk about the issue, in October 2002, Goldberg wrote a two-part examination of Hezbollah, In the Party of God

Jeffrey Goldberg
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Jeffrey Goldberg

36.
The Atlantic Monthly
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The Atlantic is an American magazine, founded in 1857 as The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2006, the magazine is based in Washington, D. C, created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine, it has grown to achieve a national reputation as a high-quality review organ with a moderate worldview. The magazine has recognized and published new writers and poets. It has published leading writers commentary on abolition, education, the periodical has won more National Magazine Awards than any other monthly magazine. The first issue of the magazine was published on November 1,1857, the magazines initiator and founder was Francis H. Underwood, an assistant to the publisher, who received less recognition than his partners because he was neither a humbug nor a Harvard man. After experiencing financial hardship and a series of changes, the magazine was reformatted as a general editorial magazine. Focusing on foreign affairs, politics, and the cultural trends, it is now primarily aimed at a target audience of serious national readers. In 2010, The Atlantic posted its first profit in a decade, in profiling the publication at the time, The New York Times noted the accomplishment was the result of a cultural transfusion, a dose of counterintuition and a lot of digital advertising revenue. The magazine, subscribed to by over 425,000 readers, the Atlantic features articles in the fields of the arts, the economy, foreign affairs, political science, and technology. The Atlantics president is Bob Cohn, in April 2005, The Atlantics editors decided to cease publishing fiction in regular issues in favor of a newsstand-only annual fiction issue edited by longtime staffer C. Michael Curtis. They have since re-instituted the practice, on January 22,2008, TheAtlantic. com dropped its subscriber wall and allowed users to freely browse its site, including all past archives. TheAtlantic. com covers politics, business, entertainment, technology, health, international affairs, and more. In December 2011, a new Health Channel launched on TheAtlantic. com, incorporating coverage of food, as well as related to the mind, body, sex, family. TheAtlantic. com has expanded to visual storytelling with the addition of the In Focus photo blog, curated by Alan Taylor. A leading literary magazine, The Atlantic has published significant works. It was the first to publish pieces by the abolitionists Julia Ward Howe, for example, Emily Dickinson, after reading an article in The Atlantic by Thomas Wentworth Higginson, asked him to become her mentor. In 2005, the magazine won a National Magazine Award for fiction, the magazine also published many of the works of Mark Twain, including one that was lost until 2001. Editors have recognized major cultural changes and movements, for example, the magazine has also published speculative articles that inspired the development of new technologies

The Atlantic Monthly
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First publication of "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
The Atlantic Monthly
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Cover of The Atlantic

37.
Insignificance (play)
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Insignificance is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jeremy Thomas and Alexander Stuart, and adapted by Terry Johnson from his play of the same name. The film is set in 1954, with most of the taking place in a hotel room in New York City. The Actress husband, The Ballplayer, watches with obvious discomfort as she is ogled, the Actress, rather than join him afterwards, disappears in a taxi, leaving him behind. She stops at a store and picks up a variety of toys, flashlights, the Professor, recognisable as Albert Einstein, is in his hotel room, working on pages of mathematical calculations. The Senator is recognisable as Joe McCarthy, the Professor refuses and says he will never appear. The Senator leaves, saying hell be back to get him at 8 a. m. the following morning, the Actress appears at the door of the Professors hotel room, and he invites her in. They talk about fame, being chased, and the stars and she does a lively demonstration of the Theory of Relativity using the toys and flashlights and balloons. She tells The Professor he is at the top of her list of people shed like to sleep with and they decide to go to bed, but are interrupted by the arrival of The Ballplayer, who has tracked her to the hotel. The Professor leaves them alone and goes to another room. The Actress and The Ballplayer talk about their marriage, The Actress tells her husband she believes she is pregnant, the following morning The Senator arrives at The Professors room to find him gone, but The Actress naked and alone in his bed. The Senator mistakes her for a girl and threatens to use her to expose and embarrass The Professor, then punches her hard in the abdomen. The Professor returns while The Senator is collecting all of the hundreds of pages of The Professors work to take away with him, the Professor grabs the papers and throws them out of the windows, while The Actress writhes in agony on the bed. The Senator leaves, defeated in his purpose, the Ballplayer returns and talks about his fame in the baseball world, and confides in him about his marital problems while The Actress is in the bathroom, possibly suffering a miscarriage. She finally announces to him that their marriage is over, the Actress becomes impatient with The Professor, sensing that he is hiding something. He is sitting on the bed with his watch, which has stopped at 8.15, in one hand, and he confesses his terrible feelings of guilt about the event, and she reassures him. Right at 8.15 a. m. as she is leaving, he has a vision of the destruction of the room, Hiroshima, the Actresss skirt swirls in flames as she burns in his vision. Then the film reverses and the world is restored to order as she smiles and leaves, the seed for Johnsons play was his having read that an autographed photograph of Einstein was found amongst Marilyn Monroes possessions upon her death. The idea of them meeting piqued his interest, and he wrote what became a meditation on the nature of fame

38.
Thomas Keneally
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Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright, and essayist. He is best known for writing Schindlers Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982 which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, the book would later be adapted to Steven Spielbergs Schindlers List, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Born in Sydney, Keneally grew up in Kempsey and he was educated at St Patricks College, Strathfield. Subsequently, a prize there has been named after him. Keneally entered St Patricks Seminary, Manly to train as a Catholic priest, although he was ordained as a deacon while at the seminary, he left without being ordained to the priesthood. He worked as a Sydney schoolteacher before his success as a novelist and was a lecturer at the University of New England and he has also written screenplays, memoirs and non-fiction books. Keneally was known as Mick until 1964 but began using the name Thomas when he started publishing and he is most famous for his Schindlers Ark, which won the Booker Prize and is the basis of the film Schindlers List. Many of his novels are reworkings of material, although modern in their psychology. Keneally has also acted in a handful of films and he had a small role in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and played Father Marshall in the award-winning Fred Schepisi film The Devils Playground. In 1983, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia and he is an Australian Living Treasure. Keneally was a professor at the University of California, Irvine where he taught the graduate fiction workshop for one quarter in 1985. From 1991 to 1995, he was a professor in the writing program at UCI. He is an advocate of an Australian republic, meaning the abolition of the Australian monarchy. Several of his Republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement, Keneally is a keen supporter of rugby league football, in particular the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club of the NRL. in 2004 he gave the sixth annual Tom Brock Lecture. He made an appearance in the 2007 rugby league drama film The Final Winter, in March 2009, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, gave an autographed copy of Keneallys biography Lincoln to President Barack Obama as a state gift. Keneallys nephew Ben is married to the former Premier of New South Wales, Kristina Keneally who in July 2014 joined Sky News Australia and currently co-hosts the TV news program Keneally and Cameron. The Tom Keneally Centre opened in August 2011 at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, housing Keneallys books, the site is used for book launches, readings and writing classes. Keneally wrote the Booker Prize-winning novel in 1982, inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, in 1980 Pfefferberg met Keneally in his shop, and learning that he was a novelist, showed him his extensive files on Oskar Schindler

Thomas Keneally
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Keneally at the premiere of the film Brave at the Sydney Film Festival, 11 June 2012

39.
The Playmaker
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The Playmaker is a novel based in Australia written by the Australian author Thomas Keneally. In 1789 in Sydney Cove, the remotest penal colony of the British Empire, as felons, perjurers, thieves, and whores rehearse, their playmaker, Ralph Clark, is derided by authority. For the plays power is mirrored in the rich, varied life of primitive land. Many arguments are made over naturalism vs. presentationalism in acting style, the novel has successfully been rewritten into a play in 1988 by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, called Our Countrys Good. To Arabanoo and his brethren, still dispossessed

The Playmaker
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First edition

40.
Death and the Maiden (play)
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Death and the Maiden is a 1990 play by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman. The world premiere was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 9 July 1991 and it had one reading and one workshop production prior to its world premiere. Paulina Salas is a political prisoner in an unnamed Latin American country who had been raped by her captors. The rapist doctor played Schuberts composition Death and the Maiden during the act of rape, years later, after the repressive regime has fallen, Paulina lives in an isolated country house with her husband, Gerardo Escobar. When Gerardo comes back from a visit to the president, he gets a flat tire, a stranger named Dr. Miranda stops to assist him. Dr. Miranda drives Gerardo home and later in the night he returns, Paulina recognizes Mirandas voice and mannerism as that of her rapist, and takes him captive in order to put him on trial and extract a confession from him. Unconvinced of his guilt, Gerardo acts as Roberto Mirandas lawyer, after hearing the full story of her captivity from Paulina, Gerardo formulates a confession with Roberto to appease Paulinas madness and set her free from her past. Paulina records the confession and has Roberto write it out. She sends Gerardo out to get Robertos car so he can go home, while they are alone for the last time, Paulina accuses Roberto of being unrepentant and guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Throughout the play it is uncertain whether details are evidence of Robertos guilt or Paulinas paranoia, at the end of the play it is unclear who is innocent. Death and the Maiden returns to Londons West End 20 years since it first premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, the much awaited return was in 2011 at the Harold Pinter Theatre. The two main characters were played by Clara Khoury and Saleh Bakri. in 2015 Death and the Maiden is being staged as a co-production between Melbourne Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company. Susie Porter to play Paulina with Eugene Gilfedder as the man whose voice might be his undoing, in 1994, Roman Polanski directed a film of the work, starring Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, and Stuart Wilson. An opera based on the play has been composed by Jonas Forssell with the libretto by Ariel Dorfman, the world premiere was staged at the Malmö Opera on 20 September 2008. 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play Dorfman, Ariel, Death and the Maiden at the Internet Broadway Database Death and the Maiden at the Internet Broadway Database

Death and the Maiden (play)
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Death and the Maiden

41.
Ariel Dorfman
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Vladimiro Ariel Dorfman is an Argentine-Chilean-American novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American Studies at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina, shortly after his birth, they moved to the United States and then, in 1954, moved to Chile. He attended and later worked as a professor at the University of Chile, marrying Angélica Malinarich in 1966, from 1968 to 1969, he attended graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley and then returned to Chile. Since the restoration of democracy in Chile, in 1990, he, from 1970 to 1973, Dorfman served as a cultural adviser to President Salvador Allende. During this time he wrote, with Armand Mattelart, a critique of North American cultural imperialism, How to Read Donald Duck. Forced to leave Chile in 1973, after the coup by General Augusto Pinochet leading to President Allendes suicide, Dorfman went on to live in Paris, Amsterdam, and Washington, D. C. Since 1985 he has taught at Duke University, where he is currently Walter Hines Page Research Professor of Literature and Professor of Latin American Studies. Dorfman details his life of exile and bi-cultural living in his memoir, Heading South, Looking North, Dorfmans work often deals with the horrors of tyranny and, in later works, the trials of exile. Dorfman identified the stark, painful Chilean transition to democracy as Death and his thesis on the absurd in plays of Harold Pinter was published in Spanish as El absurdo entre cuatro paredes, el teatro de Harold Pinter by Editorial Universitaria, in Santiago, Chile, in 1968. Pinter later became a friend as well as an influence on Dorfmans work. Rather than distinguishing between politics and art, Dorfman believes that writing is deeply political, and, at its best. Dorfmans works have translated into more than 40 languages and performed in over 100 countries. He has won international awards, including two Kennedy Center Theater Awards. In 1996, with his son, Rodrigo, he received an award for best television drama in Britain for Prisoners in Time, the play starred Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin, and John Malkovich, among others, and was directed by Greg Mosher. It has gone on to numerous performances around the world, including a run in New York City. Dorfmans play The Other Side had its premiere at the New National Theatre in Tokyo in 2004. He is also the subject of a documentary, A Promise to the Dead, based on his memoir Heading South, Looking North. The film had its premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8,2007

Ariel Dorfman
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Ariel Dorfman

42.
Juliet Stevenson
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Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply and her other film appearances include Emma, Bend It Like Beckham, Mona Lisa Smile, Being Julia, and Infamous. Stevenson has starred in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre productions, including Olivier Award nominated roles in Measure for Measure, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, for her role as Paulina in Death and the Maiden, she won the 1992 Olivier Award for Best Actress. Her fifth Olivier nomination was for her work in the 2009 revival of Duet for One and she has also received three nominations for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, for A Dolls House, The Politicians Wife and Accused. Other stage roles include The Heretic and Happy Days, Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth, a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevensons father was assigned a new posting every two and a half years, Stevenson was part of the new wave’ of actors to emerge from the Academy. Others included Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Payne, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton and this led to a stage career starting in 1978 with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although she has gained fame through her television and film work, for the latter, she was awarded the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. In the 1987 TV film Life Story, Stevenson played the part of scientist Rosalind Franklin and she played the leading role in the Anthony Minghella film Truly, Madly, Deeply and her roles in The Secret Rapture, Emma, Bend It Like Beckham and Mona Lisa Smile. She has more recently starred in Pierrepoint, Infamous as Diana Vreeland and Breaking and Entering as Rosemary, the film and Stevenson were criticised for trying to influence parents against MMR and dressing up science as entertainment. In 2009, she starred in ITVs A Place of Execution, the role won her the Best Actress Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards. Stevenson lives with anthropologist Hugh Brody, her partner since 1993, the couple live in Highgate, North London. They have two children, both born in Camden, London, Rosalind Hannah Brody and Gabriel Jonathan Brody and she is an atheist but considers herself a spiritual and superstitious person. In 1992, she appeared in a political broadcast for the Labour Party, in 2008, she campaigned on behalf of refugee women with a reading of Motherland at the Young Vic. A partial list of Stevensons audio recordings, Man and Superman, production featured Juliet Stevenson, Ralph Fiennes and Judi Dench. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook,7 CDs Persuasion by Jane Austen, Unabridged, Naxos audiobook,7 CDs Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Unabridged, Naxos audiobook,14 CDs Emma by Jane Austen, Unabridged, Naxos audiobook,13 CDs Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Naxos audiobook, Unabridged Lady Audleys Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. M. Forster The London Tapes, by Juliet Stevenson Ancient and Modern, by Sue Gee Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali, the Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

43.
Anton Chekhov
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Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics and his best short stories are held in esteem by writers. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor throughout most of his career, Medicine is my lawful wife, he once said. These four works present a challenge to the ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a theatre of mood. Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but as his artistic ambition grew and he made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them. Anton Chekhov was born on the feast day of St. Anthony the Great 29 January 1860, the third of six surviving children, in Taganrog, a port on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia. His father, Pavel Yegorovich Chekhov, the son of a serf and his Ukrainian wife, were from the village Vilkhovatka near Kobeliaky. A director of the choir, devout Orthodox Christian, and physically abusive father. Chekhovs mother, Yevgeniya, was an excellent storyteller who entertained the children with tales of her travels with her cloth-merchant father all over Russia and our talents we got from our father, Chekhov remembered, but our soul from our mother. Despotism and lying so mutilated our childhood that its sickening and frightening to think about it, remember the horror and disgust we felt in those times when Father threw a tantrum at dinner over too much salt in the soup and called Mother a fool. Chekhov attended the Greek School in Taganrog and the Taganrog Gymnasium and he sang at the Greek Orthodox monastery in Taganrog and in his fathers choirs. In 1876, Chekhovs father was declared bankrupt after overextending his finances building a new house, to avoid debtors prison he fled to Moscow, where his two eldest sons, Alexander and Nikolay, were attending university. The family lived in poverty in Moscow, Chekhovs mother physically and emotionally broken by the experience, Chekhov was left behind to sell the familys possessions and finish his education. Chekhov remained in Taganrog for three years, boarding with a man called Selivanov who, like Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard, had bailed out the family for the price of their house. Chekhov had to pay for his own education, which he managed by private tutoring, catching and selling goldfinches and he sent every ruble he could spare to his family in Moscow, along with humorous letters to cheer them up. Chekhov also enjoyed a series of affairs, one with the wife of a teacher. In 1879, Chekhov completed his schooling and joined his family in Moscow, Chekhov now assumed responsibility for the whole family

44.
Mackenzie Crook
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Paul James Mackenzie Crook is an English actor, director, comedian and BAFTA-winning writer. Crook was born in Maidstone, Kent and he grew up in Dartford, Kent. He was raised by Michael Crook, a British Airways employee, and Sheila Crook, as a child, he was put on a course of hormone therapy for three years due to a growth hormone deficiency. In the summers, he spent time at his uncles farm in northern Zimbabwe. He was offered his first major role as a comedy sketch contributor on Channel 4s The Eleven OClock Show in 1998. He was later a member of the main cast of the BBC sketch show TV to Go in 2001, in late 1999 he hosted the short-lived ITV1 show Comedy Café in the guise of his Charlie Cheese character. The show made by Channel X for ITV1 had Charlie Cheese interviewing various celebrities about their latest live tour, book, in 2001, he auditioned for the role of Gareth Keenan in Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant popular mockumentary The Office. Written originally for a larger, thuggish actor, Crook won the role, neither Crook nor Arenberg were featured in the 2011 movie Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides. He has appeared in adverts as the character for Visa and M&Ms and he has also featured as himself in adverts for MTV, Film Four and as a voiceover artiste for motor insurance company Green Flag in 2007. In 2010 he provided a voice over in an advertisement for the electrical retailer Currys, Crook also appeared as Launcelot Gobbo in Michael Radfords 2004 film adaptation of Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice and had a minor role in the 2004 film Finding Neverland as a theatre usher. Other films he has appeared in include The Gathering and The Brothers Grimm, Crook has starred in three of Tim Plester and Ben Gregors short films, as Gary Tibbs in Ant Muzak, as Servalan in Blakes Junction 7, and as Glorious George in World of Wrestling. All three of these films have been released on DVD and he also performed a duet with Ricky Gervais in the Concert for Diana. Crook played the role of Paul Callow in the British comedy film Three and Out. He also provided his voice and movements to a character in Steven Spielbergs The Adventures of Tintin, The Secret of the Unicorn, which began filming in January 2009 and was released in 2011. Crook starred in Wyndham Prices drama Abrahams Point as Comet Snape and appeared in City of Ember as Looper and he also appeared in Big Brother Celebrity Hijack and the ITV drama Demons as the vampire Dr. Gladiolus Hadilus Tradius Thrip. In January 2009, Crook featured in the second and third episodes of the series of the E4 hit teen cult drama Skins. He appeared in Merlin, for the first episode of the season, as Cedric. In November 2010 Mackenzie starred in A Reluctant Tragic Hero, a play by Anton Chekhov, on the Sky Arts channel

Mackenzie Crook
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Crook in 2009

45.
Felicity Jones
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Felicity Rose Hadley Jones is an English actress. She started her acting career as a child, appearing at age 12 in The Treasure Seekers. Jones went on to play Ethel Hallow for one season in the television show The Worst Witch, on radio, she has played the role of Emma Grundy in the BBCs The Archers. In 2008, she appeared in the Donmar Warehouse production of The Chalk Garden, since 2006, Jones has appeared in numerous films, including Northanger Abbey, Brideshead Revisited, Chéri, and The Tempest. Her performance in the 2011 film Like Crazy was met with acclaim, garnering her numerous awards. In 2014, her performance as Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything also met critical acclaim, garnering her nominations for the Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA. In 2016, Jones starred in the adventure-thriller Inferno, the fantasy drama A Monster Calls, in 2016, she received the BAFTA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year. Jones was born and brought up in Bournville in the side of Birmingham. Her mother worked in advertising and her father was a journalist, furthermore, her uncle is a thespian, which prompted Jones interest in acting as a child. One of her great-great-grandmothers was Italian, from Lucca, Tuscany and she studied English at Wadham College, Oxford. Jones began acting at the age of 11 at after-school workshop Central Junior Television funded by Central Television and she appeared in the first series of The Worst Witch. When Weirdsister College began in 2001, Jones returned as Hallow and her longest and best known role around this time was on the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, where she played Emma Carter until 2009. In 2003, she starred as Grace May in the BBC drama Servants and she took the leading role in the 2007 ITV adaptation of Jane Austens Northanger Abbey, and made her stage debut in Polly Stenhams That Face at the Royal Court Theatre in April 2007. In January 2009, the five-part TV serial The Diary of Anne Frank, in which Jones played the role of Margot Frank alongside Tamsin Greig, later that year in May, she performed in a rehearsed reading of Anthony Minghellas Hang Up at the High Tide Festival. Jones played the role of Julie in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchants 2010 film Cemetery Junction and she also appeared in Soulboy and in Julie Taymors big screen adaptation of The Tempest as Miranda. On 29 January 2011, Jones won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her performance as Anna in Drake Doremuss Like Crazy and she had to do her own hair and make-up in the film, while the dialogue was entirely improvised. Her performance earned comparisons to Carey Mulligans Academy Award-nominated role in An Education and she also received the Best New Hollywood Award for this film at the 2011 Hollywood Film Awards. Jones said that the role was something of a relief after a string of costume roles, Jones performed in Luise Miller, a new translation of Schillers Kabale und Liebe by Mike Poulton at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London, in June and July 2011

46.
Jerusalem (play)
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Jerusalem is a play by Jez Butterworth that opened at the downstairs theatre of the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009. The production starred Mark Rylance as Johnny Rooster Byron and Mackenzie Crook as Ginger, after receiving rave reviews its run was extended. In January 2010 it transferred to the Apollo Theatre and played on Broadway in the summer of 2011, on St. Georges Day, the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Rooster Byron, local waster and modern day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. Ginger – pathetic underdog of the group, he is older than the others who hang around with Johnny and he aspires to be a DJ, but is in fact an unemployed plasterer. The Professor – vague and whimsical, the elderly professor spouts philosophical nothings, davey – young teenage abbatoir worker who is best friends with Lee, and visits Rooster regularly for free drugs and alcohol. He cant stand the idea of leaving Wiltshire, troy Whitworth – local thug, the same age as Ginger, his stepdaughter, whom he sexually abuses, goes missing in the play, he badly beats Johnny up at the end of the play. Lee – young teenager, he enters the play having been hidden in the sofa asleep after about 15 minutes, he plans to emigrate to Australia the next day, pea and Tanya – two local girls who emerge from underneath Johnnys caravan, having fallen asleep drunk there. Dawn – Johnnys ex-girlfriend and mother to his child, though she disapproves of his lifestyle, having spent some time with him she relapses and kisses him, but there is no reconciliation. Wesley – the local pub landlord, he is involved in the festivities for St Georges Day and has roped in to doing the Morris Dancing. Linda Fawcett and Luke Parsons – the council officials, Rylance met Laye and modelled his performance on Layes mannerisms, he later gave Laye the Tony award he had received for his performance. Laye died of an attack while waiting for his local pub to open in December 2013. Though the location of events is not specified in the play, the community depicted is based on Pewsey, the play makes frequent allusions to William Blakes lyrics to the song Jerusalem, from which its title is derived. The premiere of the play was at the Royal Court Theatre in London, the staging involved live chickens, a live tortoise and goldfish and several real trees surrounding an onstage caravan. — The Daily Telegraph Jerusalem is a bold, ebullient and often hilarious State-of-England or State-of-Olde-England play, is a shrewd, bold, defiant, charismatic, even mesmeric man born out of his time. Imagine King Arthur reincarnated as a troll and you have something of the quality he brings to the debased pastoral he grittily, comically and finally mournfully inhabits, — The Times Jez Butterworths astonishing new play—an invigorating, yelping, defiant portrait of 21st century shires England. This resulted in its first negative review, tim Walker in the Sunday Telegraph wrote of the character of Rooster, With his chest out and his head back, lined up in a vertical line with his bottom, the actor does indeed resemble a rooster. Rylance went on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance, Jerusalem opened on Broadway on 21 April 2011 at the Music Box Theatre, following previews from 2 April 2011. It was scheduled to play a season until 24 July 2011

Jerusalem (play)
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Jerusalem

47.
Mark Rylance
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Sir David Mark Rylance Waters is an English actor, theatre director and playwright. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeares Globe in London and his film appearances include Prosperos Books, Angels and Insects, Institute Benjamenta, and Intimacy. Rylance won the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies and he played the title role in Steven Spielbergs The BFG, a live-action film adaptation of the childrens book by Roald Dahl. He will appear in Christopher Nolans Dunkirk based on the British evacuation in World War II, after training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Rylance made his professional debut at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow in 1980. He appeared in the West End productions of Much Ado About Nothing in 1994 and Jerusalem in 2010, winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor for both. He has also appeared on Broadway, winning three Tony Awards for Best Actor for Boeing Boeing in 2008, Jerusalem in 2011, for Wolf Hall, he also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Rylance is a patron of the London International Festival of Theatre and he is also a patron of the London-based charity Peace Direct which supports peace-builders in areas of conflict, and of the British Stop the War Coalition. He is also a supporter of British NGO Conscience, Taxes For Peace Not War. In 2016, he was named in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world, Rylance was born in Ashford, Kent, England to Anne and David Waters, both English teachers. One of his grandmothers was Irish, both his grandfathers were British POWs of the Japanese during World War II. Rylance has a sister named Susannah, a singer and author, and a brother, Jonathan. His parents moved to the US in 1962, first to Connecticut and then Wisconsin in 1969, where his father taught English at the University School of Milwaukee. He starred in the plays with the theatres director, Dale Gutzman, including the lead in a 1976 production of Hamlet. Rylance took the name of Mark Rylance because his given name. In 1980, he gained his first professional work at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, in 1982 and 1983, he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and London. In 1988, Rylance played Hamlet with the RSC in Ron Daniels production that toured Ireland, the play then ran in Stratford-upon-Avon. Hamlet toured the US for two years, in 1990, Rylance and Claire van Kampen founded Phoebus Cart, their own theatre company. The following year, the company staged The Tempest on the road, Rylance played the lead in Gillies MacKinnons film The Grass Arena, and won the Radio Times Award for Best Newcomer

48.
Kit Harington
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Christopher Catesby Kit Harington is an English actor. He rose to prominence playing the role of Jon Snow in the HBO television series Game of Thrones, in 2017, Harington became one of the highest paid actors on television and earned US$1.1 million per episode of Game of Thrones. Harington was born on 26 December 1986 in Acton, London, to Deborah Jane, a playwright, and Sir David Richard Harington, 15th Baronet. His full birth name is Christopher Catesby Harington and his mother named him after Christopher Marlowe, whose first name was shortened to Kit, a name Harington prefers. Haringtons uncle was Sir Nicholas John Harington, 14th Baronet, and his patrilineal great-grandfather was Sir Richard Harington, through his paternal grandmother, Lavender Cecilia Denny, Haringtons eighth-great-grandfather was Charles II of England. Also, through his father, Harington descends from Scottish politician Henry Dundas, Harington was a pupil at the Southfield Primary School from 1992 to 1998. When he was 11, his family moved to Worcestershire and he studied at the Chantry High School in Martley until 2003 and he became interested in acting after watching a production of Waiting for Godot when he was 14, and he performed in several school productions. He attended Worcester Sixth Form College, where he studied Drama, when he was 17, he was inspired to attend a drama school after seeing a performance by Ben Whishaw as Hamlet in 2004. Harington moved back to London when he was eighteen and, a later, attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. Before acting, Harington originally wanted to become a journalist, a cameraman, while still at drama school, he landed the role of Albert in the National Theatres adaptation of War Horse. The play won two Olivier Awards and gained Harington a great deal of recognition and he was later cast in his second play Posh, a dark ensemble comedy about upper-class men attending Oxford University. After War Horse, Harington auditioned for and landed his first television role as Jon Snow in the television series Game of Thrones, the show debuted in 2011 to great critical acclaim and positive reviews and was quickly picked up by the network for a second season. Haringtons role is largely filmed in Iceland and Northern Ireland, in 2012, Harington was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television for the role. Harington made his debut in 2012 as Vincent in Silent Hill. The horror film was based on the horror video game Silent Hill 3. He was honoured with Actor of the Year at the Young Hollywood Awards 2013, Haringtons first major lead role in a feature film occurred when he played Milo in the Pompeii. Production for the film commenced in 2013 and took place in, some scenes were also shot in the actual city of Pompeii itself. The film was a modest box office success and received mixed reviews from critics, in 2014, Harington also appeared alongside Jeff Bridges in the film Seventh Son, a poorly received fantasy–adventure film

49.
Johnny Flynn (musician)
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Johnny Flynn is a South African-born English musician and actor. He is the singer and songwriter for the band Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit and he is also known for being the lead actor in the television series Lovesick. Flynn was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the son of Eric Flynn, an actor and singer, at the age of two he moved with his family to the UK. Later, he would teach himself guitar and win a music scholarship to Bedales School. Before moving on to Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art to study acting, in 2005, Flynn was one of Screen Internationals Stars of Tomorrow. Flynn had parts in the television series Murder in Suburbia, Holby City and he rose to fame in his starring role of Dolf Vega in the film Crusade in Jeans. In 2011, Flynns music was in the film A Bag of Hammers, in 2013, Flynn was cast in Song One, a film starring Anne Hathaway. Flynn plays a musician by the name of James Forester, who involved with Hathaways character. In 2014, Flynn played the role of Dylan in the British rom-com TV series Scrotal Recall which aired on Channel 4. In 2015, he was one of the stars of the Comedy Central show Brotherhood, in it, he played one of two adult brothers who have to raise their younger brother when their mother unexpectedly dies. Flynn performed in Propellers all-male Shakespeare troupe, playing Curtis and Sebastian in the 2007 season and he has also performed in several other plays including Richard Beans play The Heretic at the Royal Court Theatre. Johnny Flynn was cast in the role of Lee in Jerusalem, Jez Butterworths hit play, the productions transferred to the Apollo Theatre in the West End until February 2013. In March 2013 Flynn played the role in Bruce Norris play The Low Road at the Royal Court. In September 2015 he played Mooney alongside David Morrissey and Reece Shearsmith also at the Royal Court in Martin McDonaghs new play Hangmen, Flynn was longlisted in the Evening Standard Awards and the Whats On Stage Awards for best Newcomer for his role in The Heretic in 2012. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for his role in Jerusalem the same year and he won a commendation in the 2012 Ian Charleson Awards for his role as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre. Flynn released several albums and plays folk-influenced songs of his own composition. He wrote the score including the theme song for the BBC Four television series Detectorists and made a cameo appearance performing the song in series one. In 2015 he also composed the music for the Globe Theatres production of As You Like It and he has composed music for several films, Television series and Theatre productions

Johnny Flynn (musician)
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Johnny Flynn

50.
David Morrissey
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David Mark Morrissey is an English actor, director, producer and screenwriter. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer, after making One Summer, Morrissey attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre for four years. Throughout the 1990s, Morrissey often portrayed policemen and soldiers, though he took roles such as Bradley Headstone in Our Mutual Friend and Christopher Finzi in Hilary. The former earned him a Best Actor nomination at the British Academy Television Awards, in the years following those films, he had roles in Sense and Sensibility, Red Riding, Nowhere Boy and Centurion and produced and starred in the crime drama Thorne. Morrissey returned to the stage in 2008 for a run of Neil LaButes In a Dark Dark House and he then starred in the British crime film Blitz, playing a morally dubious reporter in contact with the eponymous cop killer. The following year, he portrayed the Governor in AMC television series The Walking Dead as a regular in the third and fourth seasons. Morrissey has directed films and the television dramas Sweet Revenge. His feature debut, Dont Worry About Me, premiered at the 2009 London Film Festival and was broadcast on BBC television in March 2010, in 2014 he appeared in The 7.39, another television drama. Morrissey was awarded a doctorate by Edge Hill University in July 2016. Morrissey was born in the Kensington area of Liverpool, the son of Joe, a cobbler, and Joan and he was their fourth child, following brothers Tony and Paul, and sister Karen Lane. The family lived at 45 Seldon Street, in the Kensington district of Liverpool, for National Museums Liverpools Eight Hundred Lives project, Morrissey wrote that the house had been in his family since around the turn of the 20th century. His grandmother had been married there and his mother was born there, in 1971, the family moved to a larger, modern house on the new estates at Knotty Ash, and Seldon Street was later demolished. As a child, Morrissey was greatly interested in film, television, after seeing a broadcast of Kes on television, he decided to become an actor. Keller left the school soon after, leaving Morrissey without encouragement and his secondary school, De La Salle School, had no drama classes and was the sort of place where Morrissey thought the fear of bullying dissuaded pupils from participating in lessons. On the advice of a cousin, Morrissey joined the Everyman Youth Theatre, for the first couple of weeks, he was quite shy and did not join in the workshops. When he eventually participated, he appeared in the theatres production of Fighting Chance. He went to the theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, by the age of 14, Morrissey was one of two youth theatre members who sat on the board of the Everyman Theatre. Ian Hart, with whom he had been friends since the age of five, was one of his contemporaries, as were Mark and Stephen McGann and Cathy Tyson

David Morrissey
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Morrissey at the Phoenix Comicon, May 2015
David Morrissey
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David Morrissey at a 2013 Walking Dead event
David Morrissey
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Morrissey as Gordon Brown in The Deal. The role, for which he put on 2 stone (28 lb/13 kg) and had his hair permed and dyed, won him acclaim.
David Morrissey
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Morrissey in November 2010

51.
Fra Fee
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Francis Martin Fra Fee is a Northern Irish actor and singer, best known for playing Courfeyrac in Tom Hoopers film adaptation of Les Misérables. In 2014 Fee was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, in 2004, he was a guest soloist for Irish tenor Ronan Tynan in Tynans Dublin concert, titled The Impossible Dream. Immediately following his graduation from the Royal Academy of Music, Fee was cast as Billy Kostecki in the West End production of Dirty Dancing and he played Schlomo in the RTÉ Irish tour of FAME, before essaying the title role in Aladdin at Dublins Gaiety Theatre. From June 2011 to 2012 he played Jean Prouvaire, and covered the roles of Marius and Enjolras in Les Misérables at the Queens Theatre, London. During his time in the West End production, Fee was cast as Courfeyrac in Tom Hoopers Les Misérables, starring alongside Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, from November to December 2012, Fee played Florizel in Howard Goodalls professional world premiere of A Winters Tale. Fee played Young Buddy in Stephen Sondheims Follies at the Toulon Opera in March 2013, on 2 August 2013, Fee was a guest soloist for BBC Radio 2s Friday Night is Music Night singing Americas Greatest Broadway Hits. In September 2014, he filmed the role of Kieran in Tom Lawes forthcoming psychological thriller Monochrome, starring Jo Woodcock, Cosmo Jarvis, Fee made his Shakespeare debut as Romeo in Dublins Gate Theatres production of Romeo & Juliet directed by Wayne Jordan from March 2015 to May 2015. From September 2015 to 5 March 2016, Fee played the role of Amiens in Polly Findlays production of As You Like It at the National Theatre in London starring Rosalie Craig as Rosalind. During this period he also played Man 2 in Stephen Sondheims review Putting It Together at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, in April 2017, he will appear in The Ferryman at the Royal Court Theatre, ahead of a transfer to the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. Reviewing Candide for the New York Times, Ben Brantley wrote that Mr. Fee proved himself a most ingenious practitioner of ingenuousness, with a glorious tenor voice. Also reviewing for Candide Libby Purves noted that Fra Fee from Dungannon is a find, innocent elfin face but a voice so deep, honeyed. His tour de force performance demonstrates immense emotional range and admirable control, Fra Fee as Philip Ashley does most of the heavy lifting in My Cousin Rachel. Rarely offstage during the entire performance, Fee’s stamina is incredible. Without melodrama, he portrays his character’s appropriately gothic emotional swings. Fra Fee at the Internet Movie Database, accessed 26 June 2014 Spotlight profile, accessed 26 June 2014

Fra Fee
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Fee in 2009

52.
BBC Online
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BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBCs online service. The website has gone through several branding changes since it was launched, originally named BBC Online, it was then rebranded as BBCi before being named bbc. co. uk. It was then renamed BBC Online again in 2008, however the service uses the branding BBC, the web-based service of the BBC is one of the most visited websites and the worlds largest news website. As of 2007, it contained two million pages. On 2 March 2010, the BBC reported that it cut its website spending by 25% and close BBC6 Music. On 24 January 2011, the cuts of 25% were announced leaving a £34 million shortfall. This resulted in the closure of several sites, including BBC Switch, BBC Blast, 6-0-6, and this led to the official launch of BBC Online at the www. bbc. co. uk address in December 1997. Later, BBC Online launched licence fee funded web sites for Top of the Pops and Top Gear, Beeb. com was later refocussed as an online shopping guide, and was closed in 2002. Beeb. com now redirects to the BBC Shop website, run by BBC Worldwide. In 1999, the BBC bought the www. bbc. com domain name for $375,000, previously owned by Boston Business Computing, as of 2005, www. bbcnc. org. uk no longer exists. In 2001, BBC Online was rebranded as BBCi. the website launched on 7 November 2001, the BBCi name was conceived as an umbrella brand for all the BBCs digital interactive services across web, digital teletext, interactive TV and on mobile platforms. The navbar was designed to offer a similar system to the i-bar on BBCi interactive television. Interactive TV services continued under the BBCi brand until it was dropped completely in 2008, the BBCs online video player, the iPlayer has, however, retained an i-prefix in its branding. The widget-based design was inspired by such as Facebook and iGoogle. The new homepage also incorporated the design used in the 1970s on the BBCs television service into the large header. The new BBC homepage left beta on Wednesday,27 February 2008 to serve as the new BBC Homepage under the same URL as the previous version. On 30 January 2010, a new design became available as a beta version. This homepage expanded on the idea and the customisation theme

53.
International Standard Serial Number
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An International Standard Serial Number is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature. The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization international standard in 1971, ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC9 is responsible for maintaining the standard. When a serial with the content is published in more than one media type. For example, many serials are published both in print and electronic media, the ISSN system refers to these types as print ISSN and electronic ISSN, respectively. The format of the ISSN is an eight digit code, divided by a hyphen into two four-digit numbers, as an integer number, it can be represented by the first seven digits. The last code digit, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit. Formally, the form of the ISSN code can be expressed as follows, NNNN-NNNC where N is in the set, a digit character. The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, for calculations, an upper case X in the check digit position indicates a check digit of 10. To confirm the check digit, calculate the sum of all eight digits of the ISSN multiplied by its position in the number, the modulus 11 of the sum must be 0. There is an online ISSN checker that can validate an ISSN, ISSN codes are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government. The International Centre maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide, at the end of 2016, the ISSN Register contained records for 1,943,572 items. ISSN and ISBN codes are similar in concept, where ISBNs are assigned to individual books, an ISBN might be assigned for particular issues of a serial, in addition to the ISSN code for the serial as a whole. An ISSN, unlike the ISBN code, is an identifier associated with a serial title. For this reason a new ISSN is assigned to a serial each time it undergoes a major title change, separate ISSNs are needed for serials in different media. Thus, the print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSNs. Also, a CD-ROM version and a web version of a serial require different ISSNs since two different media are involved, however, the same ISSN can be used for different file formats of the same online serial

International Standard Serial Number
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ISSN encoded in an EAN-13 barcode with sequence variant 0 and issue number 5

54.
Victoria and Albert Museum
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The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is the worlds largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and these include the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Royal Albert Hall. The museum is a public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media. Like other national British museums, entrance to the museum has been free since 2001, the V&A covers 12.5 acres and 145 galleries. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. The museum owns the worlds largest collection of sculpture, with the holdings of Italian Renaissance items being the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea, the East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection is amongst the largest in the Western world. Overall, it is one of the largest museums in the world, New 17th- and 18th-century European galleries were opened on 9 December 2015. These restored the original Aston Webb interiors and host the European collections 1600–1815, at this stage the collections covered both applied art and science. Several of the exhibits from the Exhibition were purchased to form the nucleus of the collection, by February 1854 discussions were underway to transfer the museum to the current site and it was renamed South Kensington Museum. In 1855 the German architect Gottfried Semper, at the request of Cole, produced a design for the museum, but it was rejected by the Board of Trade as too expensive. The site was occupied by Brompton Park House, this was extended including the first refreshment rooms opened in 1857, the official opening by Queen Victoria was on 22 June 1857. In the following year, late night openings were introduced, made possible by the use of gas lighting, in these early years the practical use of the collection was very much emphasised as opposed to that of High Art at the National Gallery and scholarship at the British Museum. George Wallis, the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection, passionately promoted the idea of art education through the museum collections. From the 1860s to the 1880s the scientific collections had been moved from the museum site to various improvised galleries to the west of Exhibition Road. In 1893 the Science Museum had effectively come into existence when a director was appointed. The laying of the stone of the Aston Webb building on 17 May 1899 was the last official public appearance by Queen Victoria. It was during this ceremony that the change of name from the South Kensington Museum to the Victoria, the exhibition which the museum organised to celebrate the centennial of the 1899 renaming, A Grand Design, first toured in North America from 1997, returning to London in 1999

Victoria and Albert Museum
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Entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
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In 2000, an 11 metre high, blown glass chandelier by Dale Chihuly was installed as a focal point in the rotunda at the V&A's main entrance.
Victoria and Albert Museum
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Henry Cole, the museum's first director
Victoria and Albert Museum
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Frieze detail from internal courtyard showing Queen Victoria in front of the 1851 Great Exhibition.

55.
Andrew Scott (actor)
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Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He plays Jim Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock and is starring as the lead in a production of Hamlet at the Almeida Theater directed by Robert Icke. Scott was born in Dublin, Ireland and his father, Jim, worked in an employment agency, and his mother, Nora, was an art teacher. He has a sister, Sarah, a sports coach. Scott attended Gonzaga College, a private Jesuit Catholic school for boys on the side of Dublin. He took Saturday classes at a school for children. At seventeen he was chosen for a role in his first film. Scott won a bursary to art school, but elected to study drama at Trinity College, Dublin and he once stated to the London Evening Standard magazine that he always had a healthy obsession with acting. He won Actor of the Year at the Sunday Independent Spirit of Life Arts Awards 1998 and he was then cast in the BAFTA winning drama Longitude, opposite Michael Gambon, and the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Scott has described the atmosphere on Band of Brothers as awful. In 2004, he was named one of European Film Promotions Shooting Stars and he then created the roles of the twin brothers in the original Royal Court production of Christopher Shinn’s Dying City, which was later nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2008, Scott appeared in the HBO miniseries John Adams, opposite Laura Linney, mamie Gummer, Meryl Streeps daughter, played his sister. In 2009, he appeared in Sea Wall, a show written especially for him by playwright Simon Stephens. He starred alongside Ben Whishaw, Katherine Parkinson and Paul Jesson in a run of Cock at the Royal Court in late 2009. He has been seen in Foyles War as a prisoner determined to allow himself to hang for a crime he may not have committed, other film appearances included a role in Chasing Cotards, the short film, Silent Things and as Paul McCartney in the BBC film Lennon Naked. He also starred in the critically acclaimed 2010 film The Duel and he is most well known as Sherlock Holmes nemesis Moriarty in the BBC drama series Sherlock, and he had a guest role in the second series of Garrows Law playing a gay man on trial for sodomy. In 2010, he appeared with Lisa Dillon and Tom Burke in the Old Vic comedy about a love affair. In 2011, he played the role of Julian in Ben Powers adaptation of Henrik Ibsens epic Emperor

56.
Gone Too Far!
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Gone Too Far. is a 2007 play written by British playwright Bola Agbaje. Drawing on Agbajes ethnic Nigerian background and London upbringing, the focuses on one day in the lives of several young black people who live in a London council estate. The play explores the tensions and conflicts between the various identities - Nigerian, British, West Indian, black, white, mixed-race. The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in February 2007, the play was converted into a feature-length film of the same name directed by Destiny Ekaragha and starring Malachi Kirby as Yemi, O. C. It premiered at the 2013 BFI London Film Festival, the movie is planned to be released in cinemas in 2014

Gone Too Far!
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Gone Too Far!

57.
West End theatre
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West End theatre is a common term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of Theatreland in and near the West End of London. Along with New York Citys Broadway theatre, West End theatre is considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London, in 2013, ticket sales reached a record 14.4 million, making West End the largest English speaking audience in the world. Famous screen actors frequently appear on the London stage, helen Mirren received an award for her performance as the Queen on the West End stage, and then stated, theatre is such an important part of British history and British culture. Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation, the first permanent public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain, both are known to have been used by William Shakespeares company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark and these theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence the interregnum of 1649. After the Restoration, two companies were licensed to perform, the Dukes Company and the Kings Company, performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisles Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal and it opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new designed by Christopher Wren and renamed the Theatre Royal. Outside the West End, Sadlers Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, it operated as a Musick House, with performances of opera, as it was not licensed for plays. In the West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site north of its current location. The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, by the early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama. Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music, initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses, but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End at Shoreditch and Whitechapel. The West End theatre district became established with the opening of small theatres and halls. South of the River Thames, the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, the next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. It abbreviated its name three years later, the theatre building boom continued until about World War I

58.
Ambassador Theatre Group
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The Ambassador Theatre Group is a major international theatre organisation headquartered in the United Kingdom, with offices in London, New York, Sydney, Mannheim and Cologne. ATGs key operations comprise three inter-related activities, theatre ownership and management, theatre producing activity, and ticketing and marketing operations, ATG runs 46 venues in Britain, the US and Australia. The company is among the most prolific producers in the world with co-productions in the UK, New York, across North America, Europe. It is considered a leader in theatre ticketing services through ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre. The company was founded and run by the team of Sir Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire OBE. ATGs business model involves the combination of theatre ownership with production management, marketing, ATG manage 45 theatres and one cinema in the Britain, the USA and Australia. In 2015, ATG acquired ACE Theatrical Group, a company which specialises in the operation, design, development and construction of world-class, live performance venues throughout North America. BB Group productions include West Side Story, We Will Rock You, The Rocky Horror Show, Cats, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ballet Revolución, The Lion King, BB Group has won the tender to re-develop the Staatenhaus in Cologne as a 1700-seat theatre. ATG has its own producing arm, ATG Productions, ATG ’s production activities expanded with the launch of Theatre Royal Brighton Productions and the formation of producing partnerships with directors Jerry Mitchell and Jamie Lloyd in 2011 and 2012. ATG has a number of production company initiatives / partnerships including Jerry Mitchell Productions, Theatre Royal Brighton Productions. ATG also owns a national family entertainment and pantomime company. ATG has a partner company, Sonia Friedman Productions, a West End. Friedman will also collaborate with J K Rowling on the new play based on the Harry Potter stories, Harry Potter. Being Shakespeare, starring Simon Callow, The Misanthrope, starring Damian Lewis and Keira Knightley, West Side Story, Elling, starring John Simm, ATG also co-produced Constellations on Broadway and currently co-producing multi-Tony Award-winning The King and I with Lincoln Center Theater. ATG’s productions in Australia include Ghost the Musical, Legally Blonde – the Musical, Thriller Live, The Rocky Horror Show, Guys and Dolls and West Side Story. ATG runs ATG Tickets, which provides the in-house ticketing services to ATG’s UK theatre’s and manages ATG’s Theatre Card membership programme and ticketing promotional partnerships. The ticketing website atgtickets. com was launched in 2008 and has since been recognised by Hitwise as the UK’s number one theatre ticketing website, in 2011, ATG Theatre Card, the UK’s largest paid-for theatre membership scheme was launched. com and GroupLine. Squire and Panter had known each other since 1979, and Panter offered Squire a job after she was redundant in 1986

Ambassador Theatre Group

59.
Fortune Theatre
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The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. The theatre is situated next to Crown Court Church, and dwarfed by the Theatre Royal, Cowen commissioned architect Ernest Schaufelberg to design the theatre in an Italianate style. Constructed from 1922 to 1924, it was the first theatre to be built in London after the end of the First World War. One of the first buildings in London to experiment with concrete, its façade is principally made of bush hammered concrete, since the demolition of the original Wembley Stadium, the theatre is now the oldest remaining public building designed wholly using concrete as a textured and exposed façade. The theatres famous figurine, Terpsichore was sculpted by M. H. Crichton of the Bromsgrove Guild, the theatre is entered through bronze double doors, and internally there is a foyer of grey and red marble, with a beaten copper ticket booth. With 432 seats in the auditorium, it is believed to be the second smallest West End theatre and it was refurbished in 1960, and Grade II listed by English Heritage in May 1994. The theatre opened, as the Fortune Thriller Theatre on 8 August 1924, during the Second World War, the theatre hosted performances by ENSA, entertainers drawn from the armed forces. Since the war, the theatre has been a house, with actors such as Dame Judi Dench, Dirk Bogarde. The Fortune also hosted shows from Flanders and Swann and Beyond the Fringe, nunsense played at the theatre in 1987. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the running play The Woman in Black. A celebration was held in 2001 to mark the 5, 000th performance, from 9 to 13 September 2008, the show was performed in Japanese by Takaya Kamikaya and Haruhito Saito, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and Japan. The theatre was used to record the Lily Savage video Paying the Rent in 1993. Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp.110 ISBN 0-7136-5688-3 Media related to Fortune Theatre, London at Wikimedia Commons

60.
Lyceum Theatre, London
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The Lyceum Theatre is a 2, 100-seat West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand. The origins of the date to 1765. From 1816 to 1830, it served as The English Opera House, after a fire, the house was rebuilt and reopened on 14 July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley. The building was unique in that it has a balcony overhanging the dress circle and it was built by the partnership of Peto & Grissell. The theatre then played opera, adaptations of Charles Dickens novels and James Planchés fairy extravaganzas, from 1871 to 1902, Henry Irving appeared at the theatre in, especially, Shakespeare, usually starring opposite Ellen Terry. In 1904 the theatre was almost completely rebuilt and richly ornamented in Rococo style by Bertie Crewe and it played mostly melodrama over the ensuing decades. The building closed in 1939 and was set to be demolished, but it was saved and converted into a Mecca Ballroom in 1951, styled the Lyceum Ballroom, the Lyceum was closed in 1986 but restored to theatrical use in 1996 by Holohan Architects. Since 1999, the theatre has hosted The Lion King, the building was then leased out for dances and other entertainments, including musical entertainments by Charles Dibdin. Famed actor David Garrick also performed there, in 1794, the composer Samuel Arnold Sr rebuilt the interior of the building, making it into a proper theatre, but through the opposition of the existing patent theatres, he was not granted a patent. Therefore, he leased it to other entertainments again, including Philip Astley and it was also used as a chapel, a concert room, and for the first London exhibition of waxworks displayed by Madame Tussaud in 1802. It staged one of the earliest tableaux vivants, as part of William Dimonds The Peasant Boy in 1811, in 1816, Samuel Arnold rebuilt the house to a design by Beazley and opened it as The English Opera House, but it was destroyed by fire in 1830. The house was famous for hosting the London première of Mozarts opera Così fan tutte, during this period, the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks, which had been founded in 1735 by theatre manager Henry Rich, had its home at the theatre for over 50 years until 1867. The members, who never exceeded twenty-four in number, met every Saturday night to eat beefsteaks, in 1834, the present house opened slightly to the west, with a frontage on Wellington Street, under the name Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House. The theatre was designed by Beazley and cost £40,000. The new house championed English opera rather than the Italian operas that had played earlier in the century, composer John Barnett produced a number of works in the first few years of the theatre, including The Mountain Sylph, credited as the first modern English opera. It was followed by Fair Rosamund in 1837 and Farinelli in 1839, in 1841–43, composer Michael Balfe managed the theatre and produced National Opera here, but the venture was ultimately unsuccessful. For instance, an adaptation of Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit ran for over 100 performances from 1844–45 here, the Lyceum was later managed by Madame Lucia Elizabeth Vestris and Charles James Mathews from 1847–55, who produced James Planchés extravaganzas featuring spectacular stage effects. Their first big success was John Maddison Mortons Box and Cox, tom Taylors adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities, with Dickens himself as consultant, played in 1860, shortly after end of its serialisation and volume publication

Lyceum Theatre, London
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Disney's The Lion King has been at the theatre since 1999
Lyceum Theatre, London
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c. 1835 Engraving: Eliza Vestris in The Alcaid
Lyceum Theatre, London
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Sir Henry Irving
Lyceum Theatre, London
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Ellen Terry as Katherine in Henry VIII

61.
Trafalgar Studios
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Trafalgar Studios, formerly the Whitehall Theatre until 2004, is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. Also known as Trafalgar Studios at the Whitehall Theatre in honour of its former incarnation, studio 1, the larger of the two spaces with 380 seats, opened on 3 June 2004 with the Royal Shakespeare Companys production of Othello. Studio 2, with 100 seats, opened in October 2005 with the play Cyprus. The original Whitehall Theatre, built on the site of the 17th century Ye Old Ship Tavern was designed by Edward A. Stone, with interiors in the Art Deco style by Marc-Henri and Laverdet. The theatre opened on 29 September 1930 with The Way to Treat a Woman by Walter Hackett, in November 1933 Henry Daniell appeared there as Portman in Afterwards. Hackett presented several plays of his own before leaving in 1934. During World War II it housed revues, which had become commonplace entertainment throughout the West End, in 1942, The Whitehall Follies, featuring Phyllis Dixey, the first stripper to perform in the theatre district, opened with great fanfare and became an immediate success. Dixey leased the theatre and remained in it for the five years. Excerpts from the shows were televised by the BBC, after considerable refurbishment that retained most of its Art Deco features, it reopened on 5 March 1986 with a successful revival of J. B. Priestleys When We Are Married. Between 1997 and 1999, the theatre was converted into a television and radio studio used primarily to broadcast Jack Dochertys popular talk show, three Days in May showed at the theatre from November 2011 to March 2012. 146–7 ISBN 0-7136-5688-3 Theatre history Whos Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London,1947, pps, London, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. Modern British Farce, A Selective Study of British Farce from Pinero to the Present Day, official website Whitehall Theatre at English Heritage History of the Whitehall Theatre

62.
Prince Edward Theatre
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Named after Prince Edward, it opened on 3 April 1930 with a performance of the musical Rio Rita. Other notable events in its opening included the London debut of famed cabaret artiste Josephine Baker. In 1935, Stone converted the theatre to a dance and cabaret hall, as the London Casino, it was badly damaged and all its windows lost in Londons worst air raid of WWII on 10 May 1941. All neighbouring buildings directly across Greek Street were destroyed, in 1942, stage alterations were undertaken by Thomas Braddock, re-opening as the Queensberry All Services Club in 1942 – a club for servicemen where the shows were broadcast on the BBC. After the war, the architects T. and E. Braddock restored the building to theatrical use, for the UK debut of the system, the Cinerama Corporation chose the Casino Theatre and in 1954 architects Frank Baessler and T. and E. Five speakers behind the screen and others around the auditorium supported the systems seven track stereophonic sound, many front stalls seats were removed and others were lost by the installation of the projection boxes. The sightlines from the circle would have been too poor. Seating capacity was reduced to 1,337, the premiere of This Is Cinerama took place on 30 September 1954. Like all subsequent presentations, the film was shown on a basis, with reserved seats. Unlike future roadshow practice there were three shows a day and the film ran until 28 January 1956, from 3 February 1956 the second Cinerama film Cinerama Holiday was presented, running until 22 February 1958. The final Cinerama travelogue presentation was Search for Paradise from 8 March 1961 to 27 October 1962, the Casino was chosen for the World Premiere of How the West Was Won, the second narrative film in the three strip Cinerama process. The premiere took place on 2 November 1962 and the film ran for 123 weeks and this was the final three strip presentation at the Casino as the Cinerama corporation had in 1963 adopted 70mm single lens Cinerama as the future standard. The two outer projection boxes at the Casino were taken out of use and the centre box enlarged to take two Philips DP70 projectors capable of 35mm and 70mm projection. The final presentation in Cinerama was the feeble Run, Run, Joe. the theatre was acquired by EMI, and refurbished at a cost of £150,000. The Cinerama screen was removed and replaced with a conventional one within the proscenium, further renovations were undertaken by RHWL in 1992–93, increasing the size of the stage, reopening 3 March 1993 with a revival of Crazy for You. The ABBA musical, Mamma Mia. premièred here on 6 April 1999, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre, after a five-year run. Owned by the Delfont Mackintosh Group, and with a capacity of 1,618, it formerly hosted Mary Poppins until 12 January 2008, before the show toured the UK. Jersey Boys opened on 18 March 2008 and moved to the Piccadilly Theatre in March 2014, disneys production of Aladdin opened in June 2016 at the theatre

Prince Edward Theatre
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Prince Edward Theatre in 2008

63.
Aldwych Theatre
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The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971 and its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. The theatre was constructed in the newly built Aldwych as a pair with the Waldorf Theatre, both buildings were designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by W. G. R. Sprague. The Aldwych Theatre was funded by Seymour Hicks in association with the American impresario Charles Frohman, the theatre opened on 23 December 1905 with a production of Blue Bell, a new version of Hickss popular pantomime Bluebell in Fairyland. In 1906, Hickss The Beauty of Bath, followed in 1907 by The Gay Gordons, in February 1913 the theatre was used by Serge Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky for the first rehearsals of Le Sacre du Printemps before its première in Paris during May. In 1920, Basil Rathbone played Major Wharton in The Unknown, from 1923 to 1933, the theatre was the home of the series of twelve farces, known as the Aldwych farces, most of which were written by Ben Travers. Members of the company for these farces included Ralph Lynn, Tom Walls, Ethel Coleridge, Gordon James, Mary Brough, Winifred Shotter. In 1933, Richard Tauber presented and starred in a new version of Das Dreimäderlhaus at the Aldwych under the title Lilac Time, from the mid-1930s until about 1960, the theatre was owned by the Abrahams family. In 1949 Laurence Olivier directed the first London production of Tennessee Williamss A Streetcar Named Desire at the Aldwych Theatre, starring as Blanche DuBois was Oliviers wife Vivien Leigh, who later won an Academy Award for the role in the 1951 film of Williamss play. In the event the company stayed for over 20 years, finally moving to the Barbican Arts Centre in 1982, the theatre was sold to the Nederlander Organization immediately afterwards. For his involvement with these Aldwych seasons, run without Arts Council or other official support, in 1990–91, Joan Collins starred in a revival of Private Lives at the Aldwych. The theatre is referred to in Julio Cortázars short story Instructions for John Howell in the anthology All Fires the Fire, since 2000, the theatre has hosted a mixture of plays, comedies and musical theatre productions. Andrew Lloyd Webbers musical Whistle Down the Wind played until 2001, from 2006 to 2011, it was the home to the British musical version of Dirty Dancing

Aldwych Theatre
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Aldwych Theatre in 2006

64.
Apollo Theatre
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The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London. The only complete theatre design of architect Lewin Sharp, the Apollo was specifically designed for theatre and named after the Greek god of the arts. It was constructed by builder Walter Wallis of plain London brick in keeping with the neighbouring streets, the structure encloses a four-level auditorium, with three cantilevered balconies and a first-floor central loggia, decorated in the Louis XIV Style by Hubert van Hooydonk. In keeping with then European style, each level has its own foyer, owing to the death of Queen Victoria the previous month, it became the first London theatre to be completed in the Edwardian period. The capacity on the night,21 February 1901, was 893. The capacity today is 775 seats, with the balcony on the 3rd tier considered the steepest in London, owing to a relatively unsuccessful opening, impresario Tom B. Davis took a lease on the building, and hence management of operations, from 1902. The theatre was renovated by Ernest Schaufelberg in 1932, with a private foyer, Prince Littler took control of the theatre in 1944. Stoll Moss Group purchased the theatre in 1975, selling it to Andrew Lloyd Webbers Really Useful Group, nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer purchased the theatre and several others in 2005, creating Nimax Theatres, which still owns the theatre. It brought down a lighting rig and a section of balcony, there were 720 people in the audience at the time. The incident was preceded by heavy rain, the emergency services responded with 25 ambulance crews, an air ambulance rapid response team,8 fire engines with more than 50 firefighters, and the Metropolitan Police. Casualties were taken to the foyers of the adjacent Gielgud and Queens theatres, the London Ambulance Service later stated that they had treated 76 injured people, with 58 taken to four London hospitals, some on commandeered buses. Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust said 34 adults and 5 children were treated in accident. The venue reopened on 26 March 2014, with an adaptation of Let the Right One In produced by the National Theatre of Scotland. The owners were able to reopen the theatre by sealing the fourth level and balcony with a temporary floor, the opening caused a public uproar, with a selected audience for the first performance, on Thursday 21 February 1901, and the first public performance scheduled for 22 February. The Times refused to review the private opening, instead waiting until the first public production on the following day, the opening production was the American musical comedy The Belle of Bohemia, which survived for 72 performances—17 more than it had accomplished when produced on Broadway. The production was followed by John Martin-Harveys season, including A Cigarette Makers Romance and The Only Way, george Edwardes produced a series of successful Edwardian musical comedies, including Kitty Grey, Three Little Maids and The Girl from Kays. Between 1908 and 1912 the theatre hosted H. G. Pelissiers The Follies, after this it staged a variety of works, including seasons of plays by Charles Hawtrey in 1913,1914 and 1924, and Harold Brighouses Hobsons Choice in 1916. Inside the Lines by Earl Derr Biggers ran for 421 performances in 1917, gilbert Dayles What Would a Gentleman Do

Apollo Theatre
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Mamet 's A Life in the Theatre starring Joshua Jackson in February 2005
Apollo Theatre
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Souvenir of 300th performance of Véronique at the theatre in 1905
Apollo Theatre
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The facade in 1989, during a production of Thunderbirds FAB

65.
Garrick Theatre
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The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named for the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, in its early years, the Garrick appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama. The theatre later became associated with comedies, including No Sex Please, Were British, there was previously another theatre that was sometimes called the Garrick in London, on Leman Street, opened in 1831 and demolished in 1881. The new Garrick Theatre was financed in 1889 by the playwright W. S. Gilbert, the author of over 75 plays, including the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. It was designed by Walter Emden, with C. J. Phipps brought in as a consultant to help with the planning on the site after an underground river was discovered in the excavation. Originally the theatre had 800 seats on four levels, but the level has since been closed. The theatres first manager was Gilberts friend John Hare, the first play at the theatre, The Profligate, by Arthur Wing Pinero and starring Hare, opened on 24 April 1889. Sydney Grundys long-running French-style comedy A Pair of Spectacles opened here in February 1890, Mrs Patrick Campbell starred five years later in Pineros The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith. In 1900, the theatre hosted J. M. Barries The Wedding Guest, the only piece actually premiered by W. S. Gilbert here was Harlequin and the Fairys Dilemma, a Domestic Pantomime. In 1921, Basil Rathbone played Dr. Lawson in The Edge o Beyond at the Garrick, in 1925 Henry Daniell played there as Jack Race in Cobra and appeared there again as Paul Cortot in Marriage by Purchase in March 1932. A proposed redevelopment of Covent Garden by the GLC in 1968 saw the theatre under threat, together with the nearby Vaudeville, Adelphi, Lyceum and Duchess theatres. An active campaign by Equity, the Musicians Union, and theatre owners under the auspices of the Save London Theatres Campaign led to the abandonment of the scheme. The gold-leaf auditorium was restored in 1986 by the stage designer Carl Toms, the theatre has mostly been associated with comedies or comedy-dramas. More recent productions are listed below and include No Sex Please, Were British, in 1995, the Royal National Theatres multi-award winning production of J. B. Priestleys An Inspector Calls opened here, having played successful seasons at the Royal National Theatres Lyttelton and Olivier theatres as well as the Aldwych Theatre, the interior retains many of its original features, and was Grade II* listed by English Heritage in September 1960. 1972 – Anthony Shaffers Sleuth transferred 1977 – Side By Side By Sondheim transferred and was a continuing success,111 ISBN 0-7136-5688-3 Whos Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London,1947, pps, 477–478 and 1184. Official Garrick Theatre Website Article on Garrick Theatre Information about the Garrick and other Victorian theatres

Garrick Theatre
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Garrick Theatre in July 2007

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Lyric Theatre, London
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The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It was the theatre to be constructed on this stretch of Shaftesbury Avenue and is now the oldest in the street. The foyer and bars were refurbished in 1932–33, and the facade was restored in 1994, at present it seats 967 on four levels, although it originally was designed with a seating capacity of 1,306. The theatre still uses a pump to operate its iron curtain. Early in the history, it staged mostly comic operas. The theatre retains many of its features and the theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in September 1960. The Lyric Theatre still uses water to operate its iron curtain, the water was originally pumped from the river Thames to all West End theatres and hotels and used to hydraulically operate heavy machinery lilke lifts. Curtain in The Lyrics Theatre is now operated via electric pump, the Lyric Theatre is owned by Nimax Theatres from 2005 when Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer purchased it. In 2005 they established Nimax Theatres, 124–5 ISBN 0-7136-5688-3Whos Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London,1947, pps, 477–478. Lyric Theatre history with archive programmes and many images Lyric Theatre website

Lyric Theatre, London
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The Lyric Theatre in April 2007

67.
Cambridge Theatre
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The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an irregular triangular site. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie, interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, the theatre is built in steel and concrete and is notable for its elegant and clean lines of design. The theatre was refurbished in 1950—the original gold and silver décor was painted over in red, in 1987, in order to restore the original décor, the theatre was once again refurbished, this time by Carl Toms. English Heritage notes the Cambridge Theatre is a rare, complete and early example of a London theatre adopting the moderne and it marked a conscious reaction to the design excesses of the music hall and contemporary cinemas. The theatre was Grade II listed in January,1999, the controversial show Jerry Springer - The Opera had a run from 14 October 2003 –19 February 2005. This was followed by a run of illusionist Derren Browns Something Wicked This Way Comes tour, before the London première of Flying Musics Dancing in the Streets. It opened at the Cambridge on Friday 28 April, chicago cancelled all performances post 27 August 2011, when it closed at the theatre. Matilda the Musical commenced performances at The Cambridge from 18 October 2011,102 ISBN 0-7136-5688-3 Cambridge Theatre homepage

68.
London Palladium
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The London Palladium is a 2, 286-seat Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London, the theatre has also hosted the Royal Variety Performance a record 40 times, most recently in 2014. Walter Gibbons, an early manager, built the Palladium in 1910 to compete with Sir Edward Mosss London Hippodrome. The facade, dates back to the 19th century, formerly it was a temporary wooden building called Corinthian Bazaar, which featured an aviary and aimed to attract customers from the recently closed Pantheon Bazaar on Oxford Street. It then became the National Skating Palace – a skating rink with real ice, however the rink failed and the Palladium was redesigned by Frank Matcham, a famous theatrical architect who also designed the Coliseum, on the site that had previously housed Hengler’s Circus. The building now carries Heritage Foundation commemorative plaques honouring Lew Grade, the theatre retains many of its original features and was Grade II* listed in September 1960. The Palladium had its own telephone system so the occupants of boxes could call one another and it also had a revolving stage. The theatre started out as The Palladium, a venue for variety performances. In 1926, the pantomime starred Lennie Dean as Cinderella, footage of remains to this day. The theatre is especially linked to the Royal Variety Performances, where many were, in 1928, for three months the Palladium also ran as a cinema. Following this Cine-Variety episode the theatre fell dark for a period in the autumn of 1928. From 3 September 1928, the Palladium reopened under the directorship of the impresario/producer George Black as part of the General Theatre Corporation, when Black took control the theatre was close to bankruptcy. Before too long, under Blacks management the Palladium was soon gaining praise again as The Worlds Leading Variety Theatre, in 1935, Black initiated the Crazy Gang revues at the Palladium with Life Begins at Oxford Circus. The revues continued at the Palladium as an event until they transferred to the Victoria Palace theatre in 1940. Black managed the Palladium until his death in 1945, the climax of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock spy thriller The 39 Steps was filmed at the Palladium. The theatre was hit by an unexploded German parachute mine on 11 May 1941, the device had fallen through the roof, becoming lodged over the stage. A Royal Navy bomb disposal team was sent to deal with it, after the mine was located, the fuze locking ring had to be turned to allow access to the fuze itself. Rather disconcertingly, the fuze began ticking as soon as it was touched and this caused a rapid evacuation of the immediate area, but the mine did not detonate

London Palladium
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The London Palladium

69.
Criterion Theatre
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The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a capacity of 588. In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development of the site of the White Bear, the inn was located on sloping ground stretching between Jermyn Street and Piccadilly Circus, known as Regent Circus. A competition was held for the design of a concert hall complex and he was commissioned to design a large restaurant, dining rooms, ballroom, and galleried concert hall in the basement. The frontage, which was the façade of the restaurant, showed a French Renaissance influence using Portland stone, after the building work began, it was decided to change the concert hall into a theatre. The composers names, which line the tiled staircases, were retained, the redesign placed the large Criterion Restaurant and dining rooms above the theatre, with a ballroom on the top floor. When Spiers and Pond applied for a licence to operate, the authorities were unhappy because the theatre was underground and lit by gas, creating the risk of toxic fumes. The Metropolitan Board of Works had to vote twice before the licence was issued. It was not until October 1881, at the Savoy, that the first theatre was lit electrically, the building was completed in 1873 with the interior decoration carried out by Simpson and Son. The first production opened on 21 March 1874 under the management of Henry J. Byron & EP Hingston, the programme consisted of An American Lady written and performed by Byron and a piece by W. S. Gilbert, with music by Alfred Cellier, entitled Topsyturveydom. The event apparently did not make much of an impression on Gilbert. In a 1903 letter to Thomas Edgar Pemberton, author of the book on The Criterion, Gilbert wrote, I am sorry to say that in my mind is an absolute blank to the opening of The Criterion. If you happen to have a copy of it and could lend it to me for a few hours it might suggest some reminiscences, haste to the Wedding was a flop, but it introduced the 18-year-old George Grossmith, Jr. the composers son, to the London stage. The younger Grossmith would go on to become a star in Edwardian musical comedies. Charles Wyndham became the manager and lessee in 1875, and under his management the Criterion became one of the light comedy houses in London. The first production under the manager was The Great Divorce Case, when Wyndham left in 1899 to open his own theatre, The Wyndhams Theatre he remained the lessee bringing in various managements and their companies. In March 1883 the theatre closed for alterations demanded by the Metropolitan Board of Works, the pumping of fresh air into the ten-year-old auditorium, some thirty feet below street level, was deemed unsatisfactory. The new direct access ventilation shaft meant cutting off a portion of the adjoining Criterion Restaurant

70.
Theatre Royal Haymarket
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The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a patent to play legitimate drama in the summer months. The original building was a further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash and it is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate, the Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, famous actors who débuted at the theatre included Robert William Elliston and John Liston. It was the public theatre opened in the West End. The theatre cost £1000 to build, with a further £500 expended on decorations, scenery and costumes. It opened on 29 December 1720, with a French play La Fille a la Morte, potters speculation was known as The New French Theatre. In 1730, the theatre was taken over by an English company, among the actors who appeared there before 1737 when the theatre was closed under the Licensing Act 1737 were Aaron Hill, Theophilus Cibber, and Henry Fielding. In the eight to ten years before the Act was passed, the Haymarket was an alternative to John Richs Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and the opera-dominated Drury Lane Theatre. Fielding himself was responsible for the instigation of the Act, having produced a play called The Historical Register that parodied prime minister Robert Walpole, as the caricature, in particular, it was an alternative to the pantomime and special-effects dominated stages, and it presented opposition satire. Henry Fielding staged his plays at the Haymarket, and so did Henry Carey, hurlothrumbo was just one of his plays in that series of anti-Walpolean satires, followed by Tom Thumb. Another, in 1734, was his mock-opera, The Dragon of Wantley and this work punctured the vacuous operatic conventions and pointed a satirical barb at Walpole and his taxation policies. The piece was a success, with a record-setting run of 69 performances in its first season. The burlesque itself is very brief on the page, as it relied extensively on absurd theatrics, dances, the Musical Entertainer from 1739 contains engravings showing how the staging was performed. Carey continued with Pasquin and others, the Theatrical Licensing Act, however, put an end to the anti-ministry satires, and it all but entirely shut down the theatre. In 1749 a hoaxer billed as The Bottle Conjuror was advertised to appear at the theatre, the conjurors publicity claimed that, while on stage, he would place his body inside an empty wine bottle, in full view of the audience

71.
The Old Vic
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The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre, in 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, in 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened. It was also the name of a company that was based at the theatre and formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the South Bank, the Old Vic then became the home of Prospect Theatre Company, at that time a highly successful touring company which staged such acclaimed productions as Derek Jacobis Hamlet. However, with the withdrawal of funding for the company by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1980 for breaching its touring obligations, the theatre underwent complete refurbishment in 1985. In 2003, Kevin Spacey was appointed as new director of the Old Vic Theatre Company which received considerable media attention. In 2015, Matthew Warchus succeeded Spacey as artistic director, the theatre was a minor theatre and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. Nevertheless, when the theatre passed to George Bolwell Davidge in 1824 he succeeded in bringing legendary actor Edmund Kean south of the river to play six Shakespeare plays in six nights. More popular staples in the repertoire were sensational and violent melodramas demonstrating the evils of drink, churned out by the house dramatist, confirmed teetotaller Douglas Jerrold. On 1 July 1833, the theatre was renamed the Royal Victoria Theatre, under the protection and patronage of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, mother to Princess Victoria, the 14-year-old heir presumptive. The duchess and the princess visited only once, on 28 November of that year, the single visit scarcely justified the Old Vic its later billing as Queen Victorias Own Theayter. By 1835, the theatre was advertising itself simply as the Victoria Theatre, in 1841, David Osbaldiston took over as lessee, succeeded on his death in 1850 by his lover and the theatres leading lady, Eliza Vincent, until her death in 1856. Under their management, the theatre remained devoted to melodrama, in 1867, Joseph Arnold Cave took over as lessee. In 1871 he transferred the lease to Romaine Delatorre, who raised funds for the theatre to be rebuilt in the style of the Alhambra Music Hall, jethro Thomas Robinson was engaged as the architect. In September 1871 the old theatre closed, and the new building opened as the Royal Victoria Palace in December of the same year, by 1873, however, Cave had left and Delatorres venture failed. The penny lectures given in the led to the foundation of Morley College, an adult education college

The Old Vic
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The exterior of the Old Vic from the corner of Baylis Road and Waterloo Road
The Old Vic
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Royal Coburg Theatre in 1822
The Old Vic
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The theatre at night
The Old Vic
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Staircase of the Old Vic

72.
Peacock Theatre
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The Peacock Theatre is a theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The venue often plays host to performances, conferences, ballet, pop concerts. The stage is approximately 36 feet by 33 feet, Gibbons Tennis Court became used as a theatre on this site in the 17th century. In 1911, the London Opera House opened on site, becoming the National Theatre of England. Neither theatre was successful and the venture was sold, becoming the Stoll Theatre, a theatre has stood on the site since the 17th century. Known as Gibbons Tennis Court, or the Vere Street Theatre, mrs Hughes became the first woman to tread the boards of a London theatre, on 8 December 1660, in a performance of Othello. The company left the theatre in 1663 and there is no record of further plays at the theatre, the building was finally destroyed by fire in 1809. The Holman Opera Troupe were lessees of the London Opera House, new York-based theatre impresario Oscar Hammerstein I commissioned Bertie Crewe, to build a new theatre in the Beaux-Arts style. The theatre opened on 13 November 1911 as the London Opera House and it had an approximately 45 feet by 78 feet stage, and a capacity of 2,660. As an opera house, it found it difficult to attract audiences from the Royal Opera House, in May 1915 the theatre hosted Vladimir Rosings Allied Opera Season. Rosing presented the English premiere of Tchaikovskys The Queen of Spades and introduced Tamaki Miura as Madama Butterfly, the theatre was purchased by Oswald Stoll in 1916 and renamed the Stoll Theatre and, for a time, as the Stoll Picture Theatre, housing cine variety until the 1950s. Rose Marie played at the Stoll Theatre in 1942, followed by Kismet, the London transfer of a version of George Gershwins Porgy and Bess that restored it to an operatic form, took place here on 9 October 1952. Joan of Arc at the Stake was produced in 1954, starring Ingrid Bergman, the theatre closed on 4 August 1957, and was demolished for the construction of an office block. The present, smaller theatre was built and christened The Royalty Theatre in 1960 and it was the first West End theatre to be built since the Saville Theatre in 1931. In 1961, MGM leased the theatre to continue the run of the film Ben Hur following closure of the Empire and this ran from 29 May 1961 to 6 May 1962, after which the theatre was closed until 19 November 1962 when Mutiny on the Bounty opened. This ran until 10 July 1963, and following a few weeks of revivals MGM closed the theatre on 3 August, the lease was taken over by the Cinerama Corporation and the theatre was then equipped for screening three-strip Cinerama films becoming Londons third Cinerama theatre. The first presentation was The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm which transferred from the Coliseum on 27 November 1963, the theatre only premièred one Cinerama film, The Golden Head, which opened on 8 April 1965 and ran until July 29. From July 30 The Greatest Story Ever Told transferred from the Casino Cinerama, from the 29th, The Royalty commenced a run of My Fair Lady which was still showing at the Warner Leicester Square

73.
Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is referred to as simply Covent Garden. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented, a year later, Handels first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, the main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high, the main auditorium is a Grade I listed building. The letters patent remained in the possession of the patentees heirs until the 19th century, in 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Dukes Company at Lincolns Inn Fields Theatre, commissioned The Beggars Opera from John Gay. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area, at its opening on 7 December 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of William Congreves The Way of the World. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often presenting the plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the repertoire, himself performing and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, in 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes, george Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at Lincolns Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent Garden, was not presented until 1734. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed by Ariodante, the première of Alcina, there was a royal performance of Messiah in 1743, which was a success and began a tradition of Lenten oratorio performances. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there and he bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre on 20 September 1808. In 1792 the architect Henry Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the shell of the building but deeper and wider than the old auditorium. Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, the Old Price Riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audiences demands. During this time, entertainments were varied, opera and ballet were presented, kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer Master Betty, the great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden

Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House, Bow Street frontage with Plazzotta 's statue, Young Dancer, in the foreground
Royal Opera House
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"Rich's Glory": John Rich takes over (seemingly invades) his new Covent Garden Theatre. (A caricature by William Hogarth)
Royal Opera House
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A satirical drawing from 1811 of the "Pigeon Holes" that flanked the upper gallery at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
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A picture of the first theatre drawn shortly before it burned down in 1808

74.
Battersea Arts Centre
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It was formerly Battersea Town Hall. In March 2015, while a programme of renovation works were underway. Approximately 70% of the theatre, including the 200-capacity Council Chamber, the Scratch Bar, the building, designed in 1891 by E. W. It is built from Suffolk red brick and Bath stone, bertrand Russells essay Why I Am Not a Christian was originally given as a talk in the hall, on 6 March 1927, under the auspices of the South London Branch of the National Secular Society. It building was given Grade II* listed protected status in February 1970, in 1901 a large pipe organ was installed in the Grand Hall by Norman & Beard. This was an instrument designed by Robert Hope-Jones, a pioneering organ builder who invented many aspects of the modern pipe organ. His ideas went on to form the basis of the Wurlitzer theatre organ in the 1920s and 30s and it was said to be the largest Hope-Jones organ to survive, and was partially restored in 2008–2009. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register, the building became a community arts centre in 1974. BAC currently receives grants towards the operating costs from Arts Council England. The centre is a registered charity, David Jubb has been the BACs artistic director since 2004. He shared the Joint Artistic Directorship of BAC with David Micklem between 2007 and 2012, the theatre was founded in 1980. BAC operates a scratch methodology as part of its ladder of development for new work, performances are shown at various stages of development to an outside audience, whose input and criticism guides the further evolution of the work. A one-man show which mocks the world of motivational speaking and embraces it through encouraging pointless actions, the old Town Hall was used as a location in the 1975 film Slade In Flame featuring rock band Slade. The Town Hall was the location for the 21st birthday party of the character played by Dave Hill, on 8 and 9 October 2012, the pop band McFly used the location to film a video for their single Love Is Easy. Every February since 1991, the BAC has hosted the three-day-long Battersea Beer Festival, on 13 March 2015, during a major renovation programme, a fire broke out in the roof, and engulfed the building, causing severe structural damage, including the collapse of the tower. The Grand Hall and Lower Hall were destroyed, the fire was tackled by about 80 London Fire Brigade firefighters and 12 fire engines. Firefighters were able to save a part of the building including several of the smaller theatre spaces. Two shows went ahead as planned one day after the fire, Jubb launched a fundraising campaign to help the centre soon afterwards

Battersea Arts Centre
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Battersea Arts Centre
Battersea Arts Centre

75.
Bush Theatre
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The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherds Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 and has become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. The Bush strives to create a space which nurtures, develops and showcases the best of new artists and it was established by a maverick actor, Brian McDermott, who used to tour the Fringe. The venue, despite its fame and massive output, was intimate, the first production was an adaption of The Collector by John Fowles, directed by John Neville and starring Annette Andre and Brian McDermott. Throughout 1992, the Bush Theatre celebrated 20 years at the frontier of new writing, what has held the Bush together for 20 years. Blind faith, youthful commitment and a belief in new writing, above all, perhaps. The relocation took place in 2011 and opened with the Sixty-Six Books project and this was a celebration of the anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, which used 66 different writers, many of whom were veterans of the Bush. That same year, Artistic Director Josie Rourke announced her departure from the Bush to take up the position of Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, the Board appointed Madani Younis as her successor from January 2012. In 2013, newly appointed Madani Younis programmed the theatres most successful season to date, in March 2017, following a landmark year of taking plays into the communities of West London, the Bush Theatre will return home following a £4. 3m revitalisation of the venue. The year-long redevelopment was driven by the aim of realising Artistic Director Madani Younis’ vision for a theatre that reflected the diversity, upon reopening, the building will be more sustainable and entirely accessible, with a new entrance, front-of-house area and exterior garden terrace to the main street. Following the 2016/17 redevelopment, the Bush Theatre now has two spaces, The Theatre, which is a reserved seating venue with a maximum capacity of 180. It has remained in its location and can be configured in a thrust. The Studio, is an unreserved seating venue with a capacity of 70 and is a home for emerging artists. Similarly, this space can be configured in a thrust, end on or in the round layout, the Bush is a proud champion of playwrights with a keen interest in those voices not often heard and reflecting the contemporary culture of London, the UK and beyond. The Department receives nearly 2000 scripts a year from new and established all of which are read. The Bush has won over 100 awards, and developed a reputation for touring its acclaimed productions nationally and internationally. Close-Up Magic,40 Years at the Bush Theatre, the Bush Theatre Retrieved December 2014 Bush Theatre at the Shepherds Bush Blog Retrieved December 2014

Bush Theatre
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The new home of the Bush Theatre: the old Shepherds Bush Public Library on the Uxbridge Road
Bush Theatre
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The Bush Theatre's Original Home (2005)

76.
Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith)
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The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre in King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, groundbreaking productions. The Lyric Theatre was originally a music hall established in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, success as an entertainment venue led it to be rebuilt and enlarged on the same site twice, firstly in 1890 and then in 1895 by the English theatrical architect Frank Matcham. The 1895 re-opening, as The New Lyric Opera House, was accompanied by an address by the famous actress Lillie Langtry. In 1966 the theatre was due to be closed and demolished. The relocated theatre opened in 1979, the Lyric also presents frequent Lyric Children and Lyric Music performances as well as Sunday Night Comedy. Its current artistic director is Sean Holmes, and its director is Sian Alexander. In 2011, the Lyric won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for Sean Holmes production of Sarah Kanes Blasted

Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith)
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Lyric Hammersmith in 2009

77.
Soho Theatre
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The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, the theatre is also home to a Writers Centre, which provides support to new writers, aimed at developing writers to work in theatre as well as film, TV and radio. The Centre accepts unsolicited scripts sent by budding writers, the theatres programme is a mix of comedy, cabaret, theatre, and writers events, with a particular focus on new writing and fringe comedy. The Soho Theatre Company was formed in 1969 by Verity Bargate and Fred Proud, soon, the company moved to the Soho Poly, where it would remain for eighteen years. In 1990, the Soho Theatre Company entered a brief period, where it visited the venues of the Royal Court, Riverside Studios. Falling into a decline, the company was revitalised when it took up residence at the Cockpit Theatre of Marylebone. During this renaissance, they expanded their Writers Development programme, in 2000, the theatre moved to its current home on Dean Street. The purpose-built venue houses the 150-seat Soho Theatre, the 90-seat Soho Upstairs, the ground and lower-ground floors are also occupied by the Soho Theatre Bar. Its current artistic director is Steve Marmion, and its Executive Director is Mark Godfrey, compensation of £3. 7m was also agreed with Miss Presdee. Sue Townsend Hanif Kureishi Timberlake Wertenbaker Tony Marchant Pam Gems Karim Alrawi Barrie Keeffe Brian Clarke David Edgar Mary OMalley Colin Spencer Soho Theatre Official website

Soho Theatre
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Soho Theatre

78.
Tricycle Theatre
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The Tricycle Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road in Kilburn in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the Tricycle has been presenting a range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as political works. The current Artistic Director is Indhu Rubasingham, who succeeded Nicolas Kent in 2012, the Wakefield Tricycle Company had been started in 1972 by Ken Chubb and Shirley Barrie, performing initially in a room behind the Pindar of Wakefield pub in Kings Cross. The name Wakefield Tricycle Company was adopted as a pun on the Wakefield Cycle of mystery plays, the pubs name and the fact that the initial company had three members. The company commissioned new plays which it presented at arts centres around the country and then brought into small London theatres, such as The Bush, the Wakefield Tricycle produced over 60 plays including works by Sam Shepard, John Antrobus, Olwen Wymark and co-founder Shirley Barrie. The 235-seat auditorium, designed by architect Tim Foster and theatre consultant Iain Mackintosh, was modelled on the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond and it was built using free-standing system-scaffolding that supported padded benches rather than individual seats. In 1987 the theatre suffered a fire that spread from a neighbouring timber yard. However, after extensive fundraising, the theatre was rebuilt and reopened in 1989, in 1998, a 300-seat cinema was added to the complex, and in 2001 the Creative Space was built for the theatres extensive education and community work. All stages of the development were designed by Tim Foster Architects, Ken Chubb and Shirley Barrie returned shortly thereafter to their native Canada where they have continued working in theatre and education. In 2012 the role of director was taken over by Indhu Rubasingham. Rubasingham opened her 2012 inaugural season with Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti featuring Adrian Lester, the production received awards for Most Promising Playwright and Best Actor at the Evening Standard Award and Critics Circle Theatre Awards. The play is based on the story of Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to play Othello on a London stage in 1833, handbagged was nominated for an Olivier Award for ‘Best Comedy’ and went on National Tour in 2015. T. Rogers, Simon Stephens, Colin Teevan and Joy Wilkinson, in 1994 the Tricycle produced Half the Picture by Richard Norton-Taylor and John McGrath, which was the first play ever to be performed in the Houses of Parliament. This was the first of a series of plays that have become known as the Tricycle Tribunal Plays. It went on to play for two weeks at Theatre Royal, Stratford East and transferred to the Victoria Palace in the West End and it completed a national tour in 1999 which included the Belfast Festival and the National Theatre. In 2003 Justifying War – Scenes from the Hutton Inquiry opened at the Tricycle, in 2006 the Tricycle presented a performance of the play at the Houses of Parliament and also on Washingtons Capitol Hill. It has since been performed around the world, through the Guantanamo Reading Project there have been 25 community productions of readings of the play in the United States. Bloody Sunday, Scenes from the Saville Inquiry opened in 2005 and later transferred to Belfast, Derry, in 2006 the theatre was awarded an Evening Standard Special Drama Award for pioneering political work, and a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement for Bloody Sunday

Tricycle Theatre
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The Tricycle Theatre

79.
Artsdepot
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The artsdepot is a multi-purpose cultural centre located in North Finchley, in the London borough of Barnet. It was officially opened on 23 October 2004 for the enjoyment and development of the arts in North London, the venue comprises two main theatre spaces, The Pentland Theatre with 395 seats and a Studio Theatre with 158 seats. The building also contains dance and drama studios, a gallery space, the programme of performances ranges from theatre, to live music, comedy, dance, visual art, spoken word and childrens events. Artsdepot also runs a programme of an educational courses for children, outreach programmes also include working with local schools, artistic companies, other venues, and festivals. The artsdepot was initially conceived in 1996 at the Barnet 2000 conference, Barnet Council officers worked on the feasibility of using the Tally Ho site and brought together partners including Old Bull Arts Centre, Barnet College and Community Focus. After a capital lottery bid failed, The London Borough of Barnet sought a developer to work with. They also contracted ACT theatre consultants to design the theatre spaces, the developers contracted architects Ruddle Wilkinson. The design was a result of working with the main partners. The developers Taylor Woodrow then developed plans for the Tally Ho regeneration in which artsdepot is located, the people of North London gained a state-of-the-art arts centre with most of the construction costs coming from the commercial development. The site on which artsdepot was built had been empty, apart from a market that was relocated to the nearby Lodge Lane car park. In December 2001, the project was launched with the name artsdepot by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell. The venue was opened to the public for the first time on Saturday 23 October 2004 receiving over 2,500 visitors for its Community Open Day, the building was officially opened on 26 November 2004 by HRH The Earl of Wessex. Artists that have exhibited in the Gallery space include Mark Maxwell in October 2006, in February 2010, The Green Party held their spring party conference at artsdepot. Official Website, artsdepot VisitLondon - entry on artsdepot at VisitLondon

Artsdepot
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The entrance to Artsdepot on Nether Street.

80.
Beck Theatre
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The Beck Theatre is a 600-seat theatre in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was built in 1977 at a cost of £2.5 million, the Beck is very much a community theatre, offering one-night concerts, drama, comedy, dance, musicals, childrens shows, films, opera, pantomime, and a renowned childrens summer project. The Beck Theatre was built in 1977 by Hillingdon Borough Council and it was purpose-built as a community-focused theatre, and is set in a parkland aspect adjoining a botanical garden. A fund shortage threatened the future in 1984, when it was saved by a local petition. It was taken over in 1986 by impresario Charles Vance, the management contract passed then to Hetherington Seelig, followed by Apollo Leisure in 1992. In 2006, the Beck reverted to Hetherington Seelig in a partnership with Qdos Entertainment called HQ Theatres, in June 1991, the theatre was the scene of an attempted IRA bombing, before a performance by the Blues and Royals band. The 90,195,427,607, H98 and U7 buses all stop at the Beck Theatre, alight at the traffic lights at the junction of Uxbridge Road and Grange Road. The closest train station is Hayes and Harlington, which is approximately 2 km away, the 90,195, and H98 buses connect Hayes and Harlington Station and the Beck Theatre. Uxbridge is the closest London Underground station, the 427,607, and U7 buses connect Uxbridge Station and the Beck Theatre. There is a car park at the theatre. Audience members may be dropped off at the main theatre-entrance prior to parking, the following is a selective list of artists to have trod the boards at the Beck, Official Website HQ Theatres

81.
The Broadway (theatre)
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The Broadway is a performance venue in Barking town centre. Previously known as The Broadway Theatre, the building was a municipal hall and it is now an arts centre and auditorium with a capacity of 341, designed by Tim Foster Architects. Herrmann Photo Tour, London Retrieved April 11,2007 From Broadway to Barking Citizen Magazine - March 2004, Retrieved April 11,2007 The Broadway

82.
Brockley Jack Theatre
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The Brockley Jack Theatre is an Off West End theatre in the Crofton Park area of Lewisham, south London. It shares a building with the Brockley Jack pub and it opened in 1992 and is a registered charity. It runs workshops to support new playwrights, hosts the Brockley Jack Film Club and produces an annual festival of new plays, Write Now, the theatres artistic director is Kate Bannister. Mike Burnside was the artistic director and Rhys Thomas held the post from 1996 to 1999. The Brockley Jack Theatres associate companies are OutFox and Bruce Farce, mick Martins play The Life and Times of Young Bob Scallion, which premiered at the Brockley Jack Theatre, won the TAPS/BAFTA Best New Play Award 1998. Kate Bannister and theatre manager Karl Swinyard won the Best Venue Directors category at the Fringe Report Awards 2011

83.
Brookside Theatre
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The Brookside Theatre is a 140-seat studio theatre situated in the centre of Romford in the London Borough of Havering, Greater London. The Theatre staged its first production in 2012, Shout, the Mod Musical, to raise money for the much needed renovation of the neglected war memorial buildings. Following the construction of a road around this historic market town, in the early 1970s, large office blocks were erected, engulfing the memorial which was soon. The feature reached the international attention in 2014 following CCTV footage that allegedly showed possible paranormal activity. Brookside Theatre website Romford War Memorial Social Club website

84.
Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone
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The Cockpit Theatre is a fringe theatre in Marylebone, London. When ILEA was disbanded in 1990, ownership of the Cockpit was transferred to the London Borough of Westminster and it remains one of a handful of purpose-built theatre training venues in the capital and is still owned and operated by the City Of Westminster College. Between 1993 and 1995 the Soho Theatre Company took up residence, during this period they premiered the works of over 35 new writers. In January 2011, owners City of Westminster College moved into their new building at Paddington Green which included a new theatre. This change meant The Cockpit is no used for day-to-day teaching or academic office space and is now operating as full-time theatre. The auditorium is 8. 5m high and 11m2 with a retractable seating bank on all four sides, each bank seats 60 people and the seat cushions and backrests can be removed to create alternative playing areas. With the upstage, left and right banks retracted, the downstage centre bank can be pulled out from the four rows to 10 rows. The stage measures 6. 6m x 8. 6m in thrust setting and 6. 6m x 5. 9m in-the-round, upstage, a series of trapdoors span the width of the stage with a series or movable and replaceable panels covering them. Under the stage is a large manually winched lift which can roll along the span of the traps. Although these could be used for effects, original plans show this sub-stage area marked as a chair store and was to be used as the storage area for seats removed when reconfiguring the space. There are 2 lighting gantries surrounding the space with the box on the lower gantry. The lower gantry is 3. 5m from the stage, the upper is 6. 21m from the stage, the upper gantry also includes a central T shaped walkway, with the top edge of the T on the upstage side of the auditorium. The T, and both gantries have 15A power outlets for plugging stage lighting into and these sockets are connected to 3 Strand STM dimmers, providing 60 ways of dimming. This equipment was installed when the Cockpit first opened and is operational to date. Now known as The Cockpit, the theatre has previously had a few other names, initially named the Gateforth Street Youth Arts Centre it was soon decided that a simpler name would be more appropriate. The name Cockpit derived from the 17th century Cockpit Theatre and Cockpit-in-Court, fortuitously, the original design of the foyer floor incorporated a roundel motif which linked nicley to the idea of a planes cockpit. The name Cockpit Arts Workshop was adopted and eventually became the Cockpit Theatre or simply the Cockpit, since its inception, the Cockpit has been used as a venue for working with young people. The Cockpit hosts regular training opportunities in theatre skills such as rigging and pyrotechnics

85.
Compass Theatre
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The Compass Theatre is a 158-seat theatre in Ickenham owned by the London Borough of Hillingdon. Middlesex County Council bought Ickenham Hall and its grounds in 1948 in order to convert it into a youth centre, in 1968 a theatre was built behind the hall, later named the Compass Theatre by the Theatre Director John Sherratt. The two buildings were connected by a new building in 1976, the theatre was refurbished in 1990 and reopened by HRH Prince Edward. The theatre predominantly receives hires by local amateur groups, as well as films, professional shows for children. It also hosts 360 Youth Theatre, the film company Talking Pictures, until 2009, Tall Stories, producers of The Gruffalo, were a theatre company in residence. Official website Friends of Ickenham Hall

Compass Theatre
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The Compass Theatre

86.
Etcetera Theatre
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The Etcetera Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy. It was founded in 1986 and is situated above The Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town, the Theatre won the 1996 Guinness Ingenuity Award for Pub Theatre and was nominated for the 1996 Peter Brook Empty Space Award. The Etcetera is a key venue in Augusts Camden Fringe, premieres held at the theatre include The Westwoods by Alan Ayckbourn, Between The Lines by Paul Todd and Blue Jam by Chris Morris. Kafkas Dick by Alan Bennett, was rewritten by Bennett for performance at the Etcetera, lizzie Ropers Peccadillo Circus, which transferred to Trafalagar Studios

Etcetera Theatre
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Fill image

87.
Finborough Theatre
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The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London under artistic directorship of Neil McPherson. The venue also presents music theatre, and rarely seen rediscovered 19th and 20th century plays, the Finborough Arms was built in 1868 to a design by George Godwin. It was one of five houses built by Corbett and McClymont in the Earls Court area during the West London development boom of the 1860s. The ground floor and basement of the building was converted into The Finborough Road Brasserie from 2008 to 2010, the pub reopened under its original name of The Finborough Arms in February 2014. June Abbott opened the theatre above the Finborough Arms Public House in June 1980, from 1994, the theatre was run by The Steam Industry under Artistic Director Phil Willmott. Productions included new plays by Tony Marchant, David Eldridge, Mark Ravenhill, in March 2010 the theatre presented the world premiere of A Day at the Racists, a new piece of political theatre by Anders Lustgarten, charting the rise of the BNP in Barking. Air conditioning was installed in 2011. In 2012 productions at the theatre included John McGraths Events While Guarding the BoforsGun and revivals of Arthur Millers The American Clock, priestleys Cornelius which subsequently transferred Off-Broadway. In November 2012, the theatre presented twelve new plays as part of its fourth annual Vibrant - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, the plays include The Andes by Alexandra Wood, The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie by Anders Lustgarten and Pig Girl by Colleen Murphy. 2012 saw transfers of London Wall by John Van Druten to St James Theatre, Anders Lustgarten also won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwrights Award for the same play, A Day at the Racists, in 2011. The Finborough Theatre won the Empty Space Peter Brook Award in 2010 and it was also the inaugural winner of the Empty Space Peter Brook Award’s Dan Crawford Pub Theatre Award in 2005 which it also won again in 2008. It has also won the Empty Space Peter Brook Mark Marvin Award in 2004, the Finborough Theatre was awarded The Stage 100s inaugural Fringe Theatre of the Year award in 2011. June Abbott Mike McCormack Jessica Dromgoole Cathryn Horn and Mary Peate Phil Willmott Neil McPherson Finborough Theatre website which includes an archive of previous productions

Finborough Theatre
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Finborough Theatre

88.
Gate Theatre (London)
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The Gate Theatre is a theatre in London. With actors such as Robert Morley, Flora Robson and Cyril Cusack, the Gate was re-established in 1979 at its current premises in Notting Hill. The smallest “off-West End” theatre in London, the Gate produces work in-house in its 75-seat, the Gate has won numerous awards for its work including Olivier, Critic’s Circle, Peter Brook, Fringe First, LWT and Time Out awards. Its work has been nominated for Off West End, Stage, Evening Standard, Carol Tambor, Amnesty International, and South Bank awards

Gate Theatre (London)
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Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, London

89.
Institute of Contemporary Arts
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The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and it contains galleries, a theatre, two cinemas, a bookshop and a bar. The current director is Stefan Kalmár, the ICA was founded by Roland Penrose, Peter Watson, Herbert Read, Peter Gregory, Geoffrey Grigson and E. L. T. Mesens in 1947. The ICAs founders intended to establish a space where artists, writers, the Academy Cinema building included the Pavilion, a restaurant, and the Marquee ballroom in the basement, the building was managed by George Hoellering, the film, jazz and big band promoter. With the acquisition of 17 Dover Street, Piccadilly, in May 1950, ewan Phillips served as the first director. It was the residence of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. The gallery, clubroom and offices were refurbished by modernist architect Jane Drew assisted by Neil Morris, Paolozzi decorated the bar area and designed a metal and concrete table with student Terence Conran. Ewan Phillips left in 1951, and Dorothy Morland was asked to take over temporarily, the critic Reyner Banham acted as assistant Director during the early 1950s, followed by Lawrence Alloway during the mid to later 1950s. In its early years, the Institute organised exhibitions of art including Picasso. A Georges Braque exhibition was held at the ICA in 1954 and it also launched Pop art, Op art, and British Brutalist art and architecture. The Independent Group met at the ICA in 1952–1962/63 and organised several exhibitions, with the support of the Arts Council, the ICA moved to its current site at Nash House in 1968. For a period during the 1970s the Institute was known for its often anarchic programme, rosenthal claims the group which assaulted him included the actor Keith Allen. Bill McAllister was ICA Director from 1977 to 1990, when the Institute developed a system of separate departments specializing in art, cinema. A fourth department was devoted to talks and lectures, iwona Blazwick was Director of Exhibitions from 1986 to 1993. Other notable curatorial and programming staff have included Lisa Appignanesi, James Lingwood, Michael Morris, Lois Keidan, Catherine Ugwu, MBE, Tim Highsted, mik Flood took over as director of the ICA in 1990 after McAllisters resignation. Flood announced that the Institute would have to leave its Mall location and move to a larger site and he was replaced as Director in 1997 by Philip Dodd. In 2002, the then ICA Chairman Ivan Massow criticised what he described as concept art, the ICA appointed Ekow Eshun Artistic Director in 2005 following the departure of Philip Dodd. A large financial deficit led to redundancies and resignations of key staff, Art critic JJ Charlesworth saw Eshun’s directorship as a direct cause of the ICA’s ills

90.
Millfield Theatre
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Millfield Theatre forms part of Millfield Arts Centre, which encompasses Millfield Theatre, Millfield House and The Dugdale Centre in Enfield Town. The theatre is owned, managed and funded entirely by London Borough of Enfield and it has 17 full-time staff working on site at the theatre, and employs many more casual staff. Ushers at the theatre are all volunteers, Millfield Theatre opened on December 15,1988 in the grounds of Millfield House on Silver Street in Edmonton, North London. It was the first new theatre built in London after the National Theatre in 1963, the first production was the pantomime Humpty Dumpty starring Bobby Crush and set the trend of producing an annual Christmas pantomime that continues today. The theatre was re-opened on 6 October 2009 by Sir Bruce Forsyth following significant refurbishment, gaining a new bar, performance space, toilet block. The main auditorium was renamed the Sir Bruce Forsyth Auditorium, Millfield Theatre plays host to comedy, musical, drama, dance, childrens and music shows throughout the year. Most shows at the theatre are professional shows which the management bring in for a fee, the venue also hosts productions by local Amateur Theatre Companies and local Dance Schools throughout the year. When hired, the offers the ability to sell tickets through its own box office. Artists due to play at the theatre in 2014 include Georgie Fame, Stephen K. Amos, Janet Kay, The Vienna Festival Ballet and Paul Daniels. The theatres largest production is a traditional pantomime which runs for 6 weeks over the Christmas period undertaking over 60 performances including 24 specifically for local schools. Aladdin is the current production for Christmas 2016, the theatre is located close to the Great Cambridge roundabout, where the North Circular and A10 meet. The nearest railway station is Silver Street, and the following London Bus routes serve the area,34102144 W6217231 Millfield Theatre Website

91.
Old Red Lion Theatre
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The Old Red Lion is a pub and fringe theatre, at Angel, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre was founded in 1948 as the Old Red Lion Theatre Club, the pub was Grade II listed in 1994 by Historic England. The pub in itself is one of the oldest in London, having first been built in 1415 in what was then the village of Islington in open countryside. A house called Goose Farm and some cattle pens were the only structures to adjoin it. In the late 18th century Chester Road became notorious for highwaymen, at this time descriptions state that the Old Red Lion was a small brick house with three trees in its forecourt, visited by William Hogarth, Samuel Johnson and Thomas Paine. The Old Red Lion was rebuilt in 1899, designed by Eedle and Myers and this gave the pub the nickname the In and Out, since taxi passengers could avoid paying their fare by entering it through one door and disappearing through the other. In 1979 a small studio theatre opened on the pubs first floor, under artistic director Charlie Hanson, it became a place for actors, directors, designers, writers and technicians to experiment. After the Kings Cross fire in 1987, the theatre was threatened with closure due to the tightening of fire regulations, new artistic director Ken McClymont raised funds to keep the theatre from closing. Nina Raine, winner 2006 Most Promising Playwright Award, staged her first show Rabbit at the Old Red Lion Theatre March/April 2006, the pub is a popular venue for celebrities, including Jude Law, Dido, John Hurt are all known regulars when in the area. The cast of HBO series Game of Thrones also regularly visited when working in London and it also the main pub for the Capital Canaries, the official London fan club for Norwich City F. C. The literary department reads over 1,000 scripts each year, Charlie Hanson Ken McClymont Melanie Tait Helen Devine Henry Filloux-Bennett Nicholas Thompson Stewart Pringle Old Red Lion Theatre won the Dan Crawford Pub Theatre Award for 2006

92.
Ovalhouse
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Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, is an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52-54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. The roots of Ovalhouse can be traced back to the 1930s and its foundations, as Christ Church Clubs, by the graduates of Christ Church, Oxford. Young people from disadvantaged areas in South London were able to access sports activities, skills training, oliver refocused the clubs activities from sport to drama and became the artistic founder of Oval House Theatre. Oliver staged the first theatrical production at the site, A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney, following a rebrand in 2011, the theatre relaunched itself as Ovalhouse, and continues to programme innovative, cutting edge theatre. Notable artists who began their careers at Ovalhouse include Steven Berkoff, Howard Brenton, Pierce Brosnan, Stella Duffy, Tamsin Greig, Jim Sweeney, David Hare, Tim Roth and Salman Rushdie. Ovalhouse has two spaces, the Theatre Downstairs and the Theatre Upstairs, there is also a cafe-bar, gallery space. Since 2011, the cafe-bar has also used as a venue for live-music. In addition to the theatre programme, Ovalhouse has a Participation. Its 33% London programme offers a route into professional theatre for aspiring artists aged 18–25

93.
Richmond Theatre
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The present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of As You Like It, one of the finest surviving examples of the work of theatre architect Frank Matcham, the building, in red brick with buff terracotta, is listed Grade II* by Historic England. John Earl, writing in 1982, described it as, Of outstanding importance as the most completely preserved Matcham theatre in Greater London and one of his most satisfying interiors. The theatre, originally known as the Richmond Theatre and Opera House, is structured into the stalls, dress and upper circles. The auditorium is a mixture of gilt detailing and red plush fabrics, covering seats and its interior and exterior has been used as a movie set in many films and TV programmes. In the early 1990s the theatre underwent a major overhaul overseen by the designer Carl Toms and this included a side extension giving more space for the audience and includes a Matcham Room’. The theatre is now part of the Ambassador Theatre Group and has a schedule of plays and musicals. Pre-West End shows can sometimes be seen, there is a Christmas and New Year pantomime tradition and many of Britains greatest music hall and pantomime performers have appeared there. Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 134–5 ISBN 0-7136-5688-3 Richmond Theatre official website

94.
Riverside Studios
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It is planned to reopen in 2018. Under the ownership of Jack Buchanan, the company produced films as The Happiest Days of Your Life and Father Brown. In 1954, the studio was acquired by the British Broadcasting Corporation for its television service, the facility was in continuous use until the early 1970s, the rooftop camera position providing one of the highlights of the annual University Boat Race each Easter Saturday. An influential gallery area also flourished, under the direction of Milena Kalinovska who joined in 1982, Channel 4s opening night launch party was held at the Studios in 1982. During the 1980s, the Riverside was also home to Motley Theatre Design Course, following repeated financial crises, and the directorship of David Gothard, Riverside pulled in its horns. William Burdett-Coutts was appointed Artistic Director of Riverside Studios in 1993, Studios 1 and 3 were lucratively used once more in the 1990s for broadcasting, including the Chris Evans vehicle TFI Friday. CD, UK was broadcast from Riverside from 2003 until 2006, later projects included the BBCs Mighty Truck of Stuff and Channel 4s T4 and Popworld. In 2014 Riverside Studios started undergoing a new redevelopment, due for completion in 2018. London builder Mount Anvil, working in conjunction with A2 Dominion, demolished the old Riverside Studios, as part of the redevelopment a new riverside walkway will be created to connect the Thames Path to Hammersmith Bridge. It played regular host to the London Taiwanese, Italian, Polish, tom Robinson hosted live recording sessions for his BBC Radio 6 Music radio show, show Introducing. in Studio 3. Riverside Studios – official site Riverside TV Studios Ltd The Riverside Story Riverside Studios history

95.
Shaw Theatre
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The Shaw Theatre is a theatre in Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. It is located near the Euston Road, beside the British Library, before being refurbished in 1998, the Shaw Theatre originally opened its doors in 1971 as a purpose built theatre within the St Pancras library. The opening production was the show Zigger Zagger with a cast that included Barrie Rutter, in 1972, Simon Ward and Sinéad Cusack appeared in Romeo and Juliet. Later in the same year Vanessa Redgrave, Nyree Dawn Porter, other stars who appeared in the early days include Sir Ian McKellen, Mia Farrow, Julia McKenzie and Raymond Francis. The theatre hosted a series of Sunday nights at the Shaw, with notable actors including Dame Judi Dench, Dame Flora Robson, Patricia Routledge. It also hosted numerous productions by the National Youth Theatre, in 1985 the theatre played host to stars from the rock and pop world rehearsing for the Live Aid concert. The theatre is now part of the four star Pullman London St Pancras hotel operated by the large French hotel chain AccorHotels and it was originally known as the Library Theatre, its current name is in honour of George Bernard Shaw. Nights guests included Tony Benn, Ann Widdecombe, Sir John Mortimer and Nicholas Parsons, for members of the public there is disabled access, cloakroom facilities and a bar serving drinks and refreshments. The venue is used for exhibitions. The theatre is also in demand from New York based Broadway and off Broadway producers

96.
The Space (Theatre)
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The Space is an arts space in the Isle of Dogs, London. Its principal patron is Sir Ian McKellen, and it is a registered non-profit making charity, the Space is located inside a former Presbyterian church. This was built in 1859 for the Scottish Presbyterian congregation who had migrated to the Isle of Dogs to work in the shipyards and it was designed by Thomas Knightley. It was taken over by the St. Pauls Arts Trust, headed by Robert Richardson, in 1989, the Space offers many kinds of performance, including dance, drama and live music. Its first in-house production was a bill of Doggs Hamlet and The Real Inspector Hound. It aims to more of its own shows in the coming years. Hubbub is the restaurant/bar located above The Space, the Space has established itself as a community theatre, offering free drama classes for youths from nearby schools. It is staffed mainly by volunteers

The Space (Theatre)
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The Space

97.
Tabard Theatre
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The Tabard Theatre is an intimate,96 seat theatre located in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Close to Turnham Green Underground station, it is situated above the Tabard Hotel public house which was built in 1880 by the architect Norman Shaw for the Bedford Park Estate. The upper walls of the house are covered in arts and craft tiles by William De Morgan. It was licensed for use in 1985 and was founded by UK actress Andrea Black. The first play chosen was Our Blue Heaven by the late Bill Jesse, originally, Actors from West London Equity, supported an event to raise money to change the room above the Tabard pub in to a Theatre. Originally when Andrea Black took over the space, it was just a carpeted room, hidden behind the wall paper were original William Morris tiles. Very quickly, the space was painted, and an office was established. News of the new theatre in West London attracted a wealth of creative like minded people who gave much of their time to the success. Directors such as Steven Butcher, and Jay Vaughan worked on some of the early plays, the Tabard Theatre created a strong reputation for new writing but also developed into a breeding ground for experimental theatre and alternative comedy. Since 2005 the theatre has undergone extensive refurbishment work which is now complete, at the end of 2007, the Tabard Theatre started to produce in house making it one of the few theatres to do so in a studio theatre with no central funding. In 2009, New Boy, transferred to the West End, In 2010, in 2011, the Tabard presented Youre A Good Man, Charlie Brown directed by Anthony Drewe and starring Olivier Award winning Leanne Jones. Most recently, the Tabard produced the premiere of Richard Harris new play Liza Liza Liza about the life of Liza Minnelli. Christmas shows have included Stiles and Drewes musicals Honk. and Just So, Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella, the Tabard Theatre plays host to its own productions, presents co-productions with other theatre companies as well as receiving work from across the world as a receiving house

98.
Theatre Royal Stratford East
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The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a large community theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, the theatre was designed by architect James George Buckle, who was commissioned by the actor-manager Charles Dillon in 1884. It is the only surviving work, built on the site of a wheelwrights shop on Salway Road. It opened on 17 December 1884 with a revival of Richelieu by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, two years later, Dillon sold it to Albert OLeary Fredericks, his sisters brother-in-law and one of the original backers of the scheme. In 1887 the theatre was renamed Theatre Royal and Palace of Varieties, the stage was enlarged in 1891, by the original architect. In 1902, Frank Matcham undertook minor improvements to the entrance, the Theatre reverted to its Theatre Royal Stratford East name in 1914. A fire on the stage on August Bank Holiday Monday of 1921 did considerable damage to the rear of the theatre, thankfully the fire happenned at midnight, with the safety curtain lowered, saving the auditorium which retains many of its original features to this day. The theatre was closed until January 1922, the Fredericks family continued to manage the theatre until 1932, although after the World War I, the theatre fell into financial difficulties, opening only irregularly after 1926. Theatre superstition has it that should the letters ever be removed, TRSE closed in 1938 and remained closed until 1943. Revues were then tried, but failed, and again the theatre was closed until October 1946. The theatre closed again in December 1949, in late 1950, a touring company presented the Christmas pantomime, Alice in Wonderland. Highly experimental, its success was by no means guaranteed or uniform throughout the tour, theyll lynch us, recalls Sven Stahl. I still have nightmares about Alice in Wonderland at Barnsley and the miners throwing pennies at John Blanshard, the company were to return, as the Theatre Workshop in 1953, with artistic director Joan Littlewood and take over the theatre. Money remained short, and the manager, Gerry Raffles only managed redecoration, in 2001, following a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid, all of the theatres front of house and backstage areas were refurbished as part of the Olympiads Stratford Cultural Quarter project. In 1990, TRSE scored a hit with the premiere of Five Guys Named Moe. The show has produced all over the word, including Broadway. In 2004, TRSE made history by having the first British Black musical, The Big Life, transfer to Londons West End, where it played at the Apollo Theatre. In 2005, the theatre produced a version of the cult Jamaican film The Harder They Come – famous for its reggae soundtrack

Theatre Royal Stratford East
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Theatre images
Theatre Royal Stratford East
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The exterior of the Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
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The Theatre retains many original features within the main house

99.
Unicorn Theatre
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The Unicorn Theatre is a UK theatre for audiences aged 2–21. The theatre has its home in a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, in the London Borough of Southwark, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup, the Unicorn is a registered charity and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio organisation. From 1944 Caryl Jenner wrote Christmas pantomimes for small-time playhouses, during performances she would make note of the behaviour of the children, recording what scenes and sequences held their attention, and which did not. She began to formulate the principles that would guide her theatre, in 1947 the ‘Mobile Theatre’ was born. Caryls mission was to drive around the towns of Britain, as well as isolated villages to bring theatre to new audiences and they supplemented their income by performing to adults in the evenings. In 1950 it changed its name to ‘The Caryl Jenner Mobile Theatre’, in 1962, the name changed again, to the ‘Unicorn Theatre Club’. Caryl Jenner died on the 29th of January 1973 at the age of 55, the current president is Juliet Stevenson, who took over from Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE in 2007. Caryl Jenner Matyelok Gibbs Nicholas Barter Chris Wallis Richard Williams Tony Graham Purni Morell The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, Phyllis Hartnoll, official website http, //unicorntheatre. com/whats-on The Arts Theatre and Unicorn Theatre Archive is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Department

100.
Union Theatre, London
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The Union Theatre is a fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan, and has a reputation for staging musicals, in 1998, Sasha Regan took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse on Union Street near Southwark station into a functioning theatre. Set beneath railway arches, it was one of the more distinctive theatrical spaces in London, the Union Theatre was given a stay of execution. In 2016, after almost twenty years in its original premises, the theatres new home, which will keep the heart of the Union intact, offers a restaurant, rehearsal room, and some offices to let. Enhanced facilities include tiered seats and a seating capacity. The Union has a reputation for staging musicals in its studio space. Some of its productions include Stephen Sondheims Sweeney Todd, Adler and Ross The Pajama Game, Gilbert and Sullivans The Mikado, the Union won the accolade of Best Up-and-Coming Theatre in the 2008 Empty Space Peter Brook Awards. The Union hosted the London premier of a new musical, Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi, in March 2010

101.
Cock Tavern Theatre
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The Cock Tavern Theatre was a pub theatre located in Kilburn in the north-west of London. The venue specialised in new works and critical revivals, resident companies Good Night Out Presents and OperaUpClose were also based at the venue. It shut in 2011 due to health and safety problems regarding the Victorian staircases that serviced the theatre, the Cock Tavern Theatre was founded in January 2009 in the former first floor function room of The Cock Tavern by Adam Spreadbury-Maher, who is currently the theatre’s artistic director. Its first production, Shakespeares The Tempest, premiered on 4 February 2009 directed by Simon Beyer, the theatre was frequently noted for the intimate and authentic experience provided by the backdrop of the upstairs room at the Cock Tavern. Productions were also staged in the bar itself as well as on the first-floor outside terrace, the Cock Tavern Theatre won the Peter Brook. But it is also, thanks to the boldness of its producing team, although The Cock Tavern Theatre originally operated as a receiving house alongside its own productions, it developed into a full-fledged production house. Following a health and safety review of the access and escape stairs. All programming at the theatre is provided by its two resident companies, Good Night Out Presents was formed in August 2008 and moved to The Cock Tavern Theatre following a residency at The White Bear Theatre. The company has developed a relationship with Nick Ward as the playwright in residence. His play, The Present, was revived at The Cock Tavern Theatre under the guidance of the playwright in 2009. The production ran from 8 December 2009 to 15 May 2010 and had set Act II in the pub area of The Cock Tavern below the theatre, Spreadbury-Maher is a trained opera singer. An Australian by birth, he came to London in 2005, in 2008 he founded Good Night Out Presents and in January 2009 secured the premises that make up The Cock Tavern Theatre. Ben Cooper – Group Commercial Director, the Tempest by William Shakespeare, directed by Simon Beyer,4 February –7 March 2009 Cock Tavern Theatre official website

Cock Tavern Theatre
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The Cock Tavern Theatre

102.
Mermaid Theatre
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The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the most recently built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new theatres to abandon the stage layout. The 20th-century theatre was the work of actor Bernard Miles with his wife. His original Mermaid Theatre was a barn at his house in the St. Johns Wood area of London. For the third season in 1953 the Mermaid Theatre was moved to the Royal Exchange, Miles was encouraged to build a permanent theatre and, raising money from public subscriptions, he oversaw the creation of the new building on land formerly occupied by a warehouse. This site was close to the location of an attempt, in the Jacobean era, to build a theatre for the amalgamation of the Children of the Queens Revels. This project, undertaken by Philip Rosseter with distant backing from Henslowe, the Mermaid Theatre also ran the Molecule Club, educating children about science. In July 1961 the poet and author Sylvia Plath read her poem Tulips at the Poetry at the Mermaid Festival, the programme notes that there were twelve commissioned poets at the festival, one of whom was Plaths husband, Ted Hughes. Other notable productions include the 1978 première of Whose Life Is It Anyway, with Tom Conti and Rona Anderson. Bernard Miles tenure as artistic advisor was abruptly terminated and the theatres importance declined. In 1989 Abdul Shamji was sentenced to 15-months in prison over his involvement in the Johnson Matthey bank collapse, Josephine Wilson died in 1990 and Bernard Miles died in 1991, financially destitute. Marc Sinden was appointed director in 1993, opening the Bernard Miles Studio as a second performance area. Actor Roy Marsden and Vanessa Ford took over the running of the theatre for a few prior to its eventual closure. After a further change of ownership the theatre was slated for demolition in 2002 as part of redevelopment plans, already it had fallen into disuse, the buildings being used more often as a conference centre than a theatre. A preservation campaign by actors and other supporters attempted to reverse the decision, in April 2003 Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, ordered the council to block the demolition. As of March 2005 new plans had been submitted for the redevelopment of the site, nothing materialised and the building continued to operate primarily as a conference centre. The show was documented on the release entitled Concrete. The existing plans would see the Puddle Dock building converted into a centre and fitness suite, plus offices

103.
Warehouse Theatre
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The theatre closed in 2012 following withdrawal of funding and the discovery, after a survey, of serious faults in the building. Youth theatre was also an important feature of the theatre, with a resident Croydon Young Peoples Theatre, respected touring companies began to visit the theatre between in-house productions. Cabaret evenings were introduced, with performers including Lenny Henry, French & Saunders, Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, gradually more plays were premiered, with many being specially commissioned by successful writers, such as Sue Townsend, who wrote Groping for Words and Womberang for the theatre. After the withdrawal of an Arts Council grant in 1984, potential closure was averted when the London Borough of Croydon and the GLC agreed to replace the grant. Following a brief closure for refurbishment, including the building of the bar. Now concentrating exclusively on new playwriting, initiatives such as the South London Playwriting Festival were launched, kevin Hoods new play Beached won the first festival in 1986 and he later became Resident Playwright, writing both The Astronomers Garden and Sugar Hill Blues for the theatre. Demolished 26/27 October 2013 The South London Playwriting Festival quickly became the International Playwriting Festival, finalists included playwrights from the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and Bulgaria, with the 1994 winner, Dino Mahoney, being half Irish, half Greek, living in Hong Kong. Mahoneys selected play Yo Yo had its premiere in April 1995, the Warehouse Theatre was a converted Victorian warehouse, built in 1882 for a sand, cement and lime merchant. In spite of refurbishments, it still had several original features, there were picture tiles from the 1880s, mostly on the cellar under the main staircase, and a crab winch and wall crane of unusual design in full working order on the side of the building. Early drawings show that the bar, opened in 1985, was sited in the old stable block. For some years a new theatre has been planned in partnership with Stanhope / Schroders as part of their Ruskin Square development, designed by Foster + Partners around a park setting with the Warehouse Theatre occupying a £5 million,200 seat custom designed building. Although a complete contrast to the existing Victorian warehouse, the new building has been designed to be as intimate as possible, Croydon Arena was a proposed arena part of the Croydon Gateway re-generation scheme in the south London district of Croydon. The site is next to East Croydon station and was in the ownership of the rival development, the Arena scheme was backed by Croydon Council with developer partner Arrowcroft. The matter was the subject of an inquiry that took place from September to November 2007. The full decision rejecting the Planning Application and the Compulsory Purchase Order was issued on the 31 July 2008 and 6 August 2008. On 4 May 2012 the Warehouse was placed into administration by the board of management, with debts of £100,000, the last performance was on 20 May, at the end of the run of Call Mr Robeson. A fund-raising appeal was launched to try and save the company, a new company Warehouse Phoenix Limited was formed to continue the work of the theatre